PAS Conference 2007

In April 2007 four of us like minded Essex detectorists spent two days at the British Museum at
the annual Portable Antiquities Conference.

This year the theme of the conference was to demonstrate the impact that the Scheme and
analysis of collected data, has made upon the archaeological world.

The speakers presented papers which clearly demonstrated the research being undertaken using
PAS data and these talks covered the spectrum of periods recorded by the scheme.

The papers from this conference are to be published -and a number of the powerpoint
presentations are available on the PAS website blog

Of all the papers presented, the one which really caught my imagination was Torksey: Finds
from a Viking Winter Camp))suggest that the army and its followers were actively trading, using
silver and gold bullion as well as coinage and engaged in some metalworking in copper and
perhaps silver presented by Mark Blackburn from the Fitzwilliam museum and Finds Liaison
Officer Rachel Atherton. This research on the finds which points towards a Viking Winter Camp
has been the result of a large volume of detectorists finds. The Vikings had spent the winter of
872/873 at Torksey after campaigning the previous year. The finds from the site of the camp
(including Arabic dirhams

The conference was a great opportunity to be able to talk to the other delegates as well as the
speakers - there were a number of detectorists in the audience. Its also always a pleasure to meet
up with the PAS folk themselves.

All in all an excellent couple of days - and a reminder of the benefit and value of recording your
finds with PAS - we are in effect an unpaid army of recorders for the academic world who
conducts this type of research - a point well made by one of the speakers.

Roll on 2008!
 The British Museum

Corinne Jon StuE and Alan

Some of the guest speakers at the Conference

Andrew Richardson and Laura McLean

 Martin Biddle

Mary Chester-Kadwell
Tim Schadla-Hall and Helen Geake

Geoff Egan

Some of the PAS folk

 Laura and Caroline

FLO Angie Bolton

photos by Corinne Mills and Alan Radley