Creating Treasure: Craftsmanship from the Past

Lincoln Museum is displaying some of its wonderful new acquisitions for the very first time. The spotlight display case takes the theme of craftsmanship from the past, and the remarkable skill of our ancestors through the tiniest of collections with their incredible detail. Discover how objects were stamped, cast, struck or made by hand through a range of items dating from the Iron Age to the medieval period.

Among them is the Roman Lissington horse and rider figure, a second to third century British representation of the god Mars with his finely crafted helmet and tunic. The figure came up at auction in 2023, and the museum was able to acquire it for its collections. 

An interesting selection of Anglo-Saxon crafsmanship is on display, from the exquisite gold and garnet buckle plate found at Cumberworth, to several beautiful pendants. The gold pendants have different settings, including garnet, smoky quartz and glass.

Coins also feature in the display, including Roman silver siliquae, and Iron Age gold staters and scyphates. A gold pellet, most likely evidence of coin making, is also displayed alongside.

Found in our county since 2016, many of these archaeological finds came to us through the Treasure Act, which allows museums to buy culturally significant artefacts found by members of the public in our county. This could not have been achieved without the help of the Friends of Lincoln Museums and Art Gallery, ACE/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Headley Trust, as well as the finders and landowners who kindly donated their finds to us. 

The new acquisitions display case can be found in the Orientation Hall of Lincoln Museum, from mid-November 2023 until Spring 2024.

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