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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;WuntBeDruv, post: 24754326, member: 115520&quot;]There&#039;s several things here which do not add up for me. First off, associating the deposition of hoards with individual, fine-grained historical events can often be problematic. Secondly, the coins are an extremely bizarre mix of issues - in addition to some originating from overseas and there being base-metal as well as silver coins present, quite a few are broken or pierced for wearing as jewellery. The date-range is extremely wide and there are quite a few coins here which would almost certainly not have been accepted as money in Scotland during this period. </p><p><br /></p><p>Additionally, the fireplace findspot is simply bizarre in line with the interpretation they&#039;ve provided, people fleeing from pursuers intent on killing them (if we&#039;re going with the Glencoe massacre theory) do not generally tend to bury their wealth in a place which would have required considerable effort to make ready for deposition - quite literally ripping the flagstones up in this instance. </p><p><br /></p><p>Something seems weird about the ceramic vessel used too - I&#039;m not as expert in this field compared with numismatics, but it looks to have already been broken when deposited and is quite possibly a piece of German salt-glazed stoneware. Although this was mostly made in the 16th to early 17th centuries (so yes, might well have been in use during the 1690&#039;s), damaged ceramic vessels were usually disposed of once broken - so it seems a bit strange that this piece would simply be lying around for ad hoc use.</p><p><br /></p><p>My verdict? In my view, this is not representative of the stored wealth belonging to a high-status Scottish clan chief or a member of his inner circle. Normally I&#039;d be unwilling to stick my neck out on this issue, but I&#039;m prepared to take flak for it and will accordingly stick my head above the parapet. I do not think this hoard is &#039;real&#039;, I think <i>prima facie </i>that it is a hoax - I suspect a Victorian or early 20th century antiquarian may well be responsible. I am willing to be convinced otherwise, but there are aspects of this which on the basis of the current evidence do not seem to add up.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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