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<p>[QUOTE="EWC3, post: 3169033, member: 93416"]The meet aimed at archaeologists I attended in London was fascinating. Moorhead introduced his guru Prof Richard Bradley who talked at length about (supposed) earlier British practices of ritual burial of metals. I had a logical problem with his argument. If you are burying a hoard with a plan to retrieve it, you just cannot put it in the middle of a flat field. Even you would not be able to find it again. So you have to put it near some sort of permanent feature of the landscape. Bradley's list of potential ritual sites seemed to cobble together virtually every permanent feature one can imagine. Thus with the exception of obvious things, along the lines of wishing wells, I see no strength in that ritual argument. </p><p><br /></p><p>Secondly, you say "near a spring" - but does this spring exist outside Moorhead's head? I never saw evidence of that, indeed to me the photos seem to contradict the suggestion that the site was in any real sense boggy.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thirdly, a retired member of BM staff turned out to speak at the meet I mentioned above, to criticise the Moorhead/Bradley platform. He gave a talk about beautiful Roman silver objects fished out of a German river. (Forgive me if just now I forget the exact details, the name of the speaker and the river - but I think it was the Rhine). The room was filled with archaeologists, and he skilfully led most of them in the direction they wanted to go. Ritual sacrifices to Rhine maidens or whatever. Then he gave very good evidence for his alternative theory. A German raiding party was retreating with its loot, when the Roman army caught them trying to get back across the river. Some of the boats were attacked and capsized.......</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Firstly, with this you seem agree with me on the main point - citing economic not ritual motives. And your suggestion is entirely plausible, and of course along the lines of all those studies of English civil war hoards. I suppose what sways me is the sheer number of these late 3rd century Roman hoards. My hunch is there was more going on. But I agree it is perhaps just a hunch?</p><p><br /></p><p>Rob T[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="EWC3, post: 3169033, member: 93416"]The meet aimed at archaeologists I attended in London was fascinating. Moorhead introduced his guru Prof Richard Bradley who talked at length about (supposed) earlier British practices of ritual burial of metals. I had a logical problem with his argument. If you are burying a hoard with a plan to retrieve it, you just cannot put it in the middle of a flat field. Even you would not be able to find it again. So you have to put it near some sort of permanent feature of the landscape. Bradley's list of potential ritual sites seemed to cobble together virtually every permanent feature one can imagine. Thus with the exception of obvious things, along the lines of wishing wells, I see no strength in that ritual argument. Secondly, you say "near a spring" - but does this spring exist outside Moorhead's head? I never saw evidence of that, indeed to me the photos seem to contradict the suggestion that the site was in any real sense boggy. Thirdly, a retired member of BM staff turned out to speak at the meet I mentioned above, to criticise the Moorhead/Bradley platform. He gave a talk about beautiful Roman silver objects fished out of a German river. (Forgive me if just now I forget the exact details, the name of the speaker and the river - but I think it was the Rhine). The room was filled with archaeologists, and he skilfully led most of them in the direction they wanted to go. Ritual sacrifices to Rhine maidens or whatever. Then he gave very good evidence for his alternative theory. A German raiding party was retreating with its loot, when the Roman army caught them trying to get back across the river. Some of the boats were attacked and capsized....... Firstly, with this you seem agree with me on the main point - citing economic not ritual motives. And your suggestion is entirely plausible, and of course along the lines of all those studies of English civil war hoards. I suppose what sways me is the sheer number of these late 3rd century Roman hoards. My hunch is there was more going on. But I agree it is perhaps just a hunch? Rob T[/QUOTE]
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