The Near Baldock Temple Treasure
Unknown Artist
- Art Funded
- 2003
- Dimensions
- Various
- Vendor
- Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Hoard comprises of 30 objects: hollow silver female figurine; two cast silver female fore-arms; pair of gold disc brooches; oval gem-set gold clasp; and twelve gold and twelve silver embossed/inscribed votive plaques of various shapes and sizes.
The hoard was evidently placed in the ground in a careful and controlled way, probably buried at a time of trouble or unrest. The numerically dominant votive plaques were intended for dedication, at a temple or a shrine, to one or more gods or goddesses. Their inscriptions record the names of several votaries. Many depict the goddess Minerva, however the find is also particularly interesting because of references to a previously unknown goddess, Senua, whose name implies a British origin.
Provenance
Found by a metal detectorist in a ploughed field near Baldock, Hertfordshire, September 2002; declared Treasure 2002.