The Ancients - Yorkshire's Roman Mystery: The Ryedale Hoard

Episode Date: July 28, 2022

In May 2020, four unique Roman artefacts were unearthed near Ampleforth, North Yorkshire by two amateur metal detectorists. A bronze bust that is thought to depict Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, a beautifully crafted horse, and a one of a kind figurine of the Roman god Mars, to name a few.But who buried these beautiful artefacts - and what can they tell us about life in Roman Britain? In this episode Tristan takes a special behind the scenes look at one of Roman Britain's greatest mysteries: the Ryedale Hoard - now on display in the Yorkshire Museum.To learn more about these mysterious objects, Tristan is joined by Yorkshire Museum curator Dr Lucy Creighton and metal detectorist Mark Didlick - who along with friend James Spark found the hoard buried in a field two years ago.Watch the video version on YouTube

Hi, I'm Tristan Hughes, and if you would like the Ancient ad-free, get early access and bonus episodes, sign up to History Hit. With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, including my recent documentary all about Petra and the Nabataeans, and enjoy a new release every week. Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com slash subscribe. It's The Ancients on History Hit. I'm Tristan Hughes, your host, and in today's podcast, where you might remember, about a month or so, a few months ago, we did a special episode all about the World of Stonehenge exhibition for the British Museum, talking about a brand new discovery, the discovery of this 5,000-year-old Neolithic chalk drum. Well, today we got a similar sort of episode.

We're talking about another new discovery, this one from Yorkshire and dating to Roman times. It's a group of four objects called the Rydale Hoard. And not too long ago, I headed up to the Yorkshire Museum to learn a bit more about this new discovery. We talk to the curator, one of the curators at the Yorkshire Museum, Dr Lucy Crichton and she explains all about the detail about the story of these objects but we also talked to this avid metal detectorist, one of the people who discovered the Rydell Hoard, Mark Didlick. It was a pleasure to chat to both and to learn more about this incredible story dating to almost 2,000 years ago and to Yorkshire's Roman history. So without further ado, to talk all about the

Rydell Hoard and its discovery, here's Lucy and here's Mark. Here's Lucy and here's Mark. Roman finds. Fast forward two years from the discovery and these stunning objects are now centre stage of the Yorkshire Museum's newest exhibition. So I've headed up to York to meet Yorkshire Museum's curator Dr Lucy Crichton for a special up-close viewing of these objects. So Lucy you've taken out these artefacts for us today. I mean they're quite small when you look at them but they're incredibly stunning aren't they? They're absolutely spectacular. We have nothing like it in the collections of the Yorkshire Museum. We're absolutely thrilled to welcome the Rydell Hoard to the Yorkshire Museum. The first of the four objects is a small bronze head of a bearded man. Hollowed out behind with vacant eyes, the head is quite small and can fit in the palm of your hand.

Complete with fine detail, it's a striking object to gaze upon and I'm keen to learn more about it. Well, let's have a look at these four objects now. Let's start with this main figure here, this main head. What is this head? Yeah, so the objects that make up the Rydell Hoard are very different. Each of them has got a very different story to tell. The objects that make up the Ryadale Hoard are very different, each of them has got a very different story to tell. This is perhaps the main event, this spectacular imperial sceptre head bust, probably of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius who reigned from AD 161 to 180. And this would have been a bust that would have sat atop a sceptre or priestly staff

and used during religious rituals associated with the imperial cult, the worship of the emperor as a god. If we look at this object you mentioned how second century could be an Antonine emperor but how can we tell, how can we tell this is potentially an image, a depiction of an emperor from that period? So one of the most striking features of this sceptre head is the incredibly detailed hair, each strand being individually picked out. And it's the hair as well as the facial features which give us the most probable subject for this portrait, Marcus Aurelius, especially that forked beard which is shown as a characteristic feature of Marcus on other statues and coins.

As Lucy mentioned, Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman Empire between 161 and 180 AD, so he ruled for almost 20 years. Renowned for his stoic thinking, he has been nicknamed the Philosopher Emperor and was the last of the so-called Good Emperors. It is so stunning, isn't it? Just how detailed that hair is, the different strands, but not just the hair, the beard and the hair. You can also see the moustache in it too, like the little strands there. It's so stunning, just the amount of it. There's so much detail in this piece and a huge amount of skill has gone into its creation. We know that this wasn't made in Rome. It's very much a provincial style.

It was most likely made in Britain. The person that made this had most likely never seen Marcus Aurelius in the flesh. We don't think Marcus Aurelius ever visited Britannia, but they would have known their portrait from coins and perhaps even sculpture from Rome. Why does this statue have such vacant eyes, shall we say? So although the eyes are hollow now, it may have been the case that originally they were inlaid with a different material perhaps a gemstone enamel or coloured glass to create a really piercing stare. So there may well have been a gem a precious jewel on this statue in its heyday when

it was perhaps part of this religious item? Quite possibly indeed and there are other similar examples that do have inlaid eyes. I mean okay so let's talk about some more of the detail what else have we got on this small figurine possibly of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius? So the front of Marcus is definitely his best side but if I turn him over you can see how this object functioned. He's actually hollow at the back and that would be to take on the staff for which this sceptre head would have sat atop. You can see here three rivet holes, one of them broken. We think that that's how this object would have been attached to that staff and it's only when we look at the back that we start to appreciate how this object may have been used before it was buried.

So this is very much an object that was meant to be viewed from the front and definitely not the back. I think so, yes. The sceptre head, potentially of Marcus Aurelius, is absolutely stunning, especially for its size. As Lucy mentioned, this particular object seems to have been related to the Roman imperial cult, the worship of the emperor, which we do know from archaeology did reach as far as Roman Yorkshire. The imperial cult was spread by Roman officials across the empire, so you find it worshipped not just in Rome but on the fringes of the empire, like here in northern Britain.

not just in Rome but on the fringes of the Empire, like here in Northern Britain. The word of the Imperial Cult was spread through the Empire through official priests. These priests had the title of severe augustales, and it was their job to oversee the worship of the Emperor's divinity and power. We actually know through inscriptions the names of two priests of the imperial cult who lived and worked in York. So who are these two people that we know of? So one of them is particularly interesting, Marcus Aurelius Lunaris. He was severe augustales for two important Roman centres, York and Lincoln. We know about him through an inscription that wasn't found here in Yorkshire but actually in France in Bordeaux, many hundreds

of miles away. After a long journey from York to Bordeaux, Marcus Aurelius Linares raised an altar to thank a local goddess for his safe journey. That inscription records lots of information, including his title of priest of the imperial cult of York and Lincoln, and also it enables us to date the altar very specifically to AD 237. We'll come back to the sceptre head and its religious links a bit later, when we get to the all-important question of who buried this hoard of objects. But now, on to object number two, a small figurine of the god Mars, riding a horse. So let's have a look at this next one, this Mars figure. Well, this beautiful little statuette is a figure of the god Mars, depicted as a horse and rider as he often is in Britain and Gaul. The statue is

incredibly detailed, if we have a look here we can see that Mars is wearing an impressive crested helmet, a pleated tunic and the horse harness is fashioned in incredible detail with these decorative discs and reins. Mars was the Roman god of war and depictions of him were sure to emphasise this. The object is actually incomplete. Mars would have originally been holding a shield in his left hand and brandishing a spear in his right and really he's shown as riding into battle. Mars was particularly popular in Roman Britain, especially with the army. He was the god of war and was seen as a protective spirit who would protect soldiers in battle.

Britain, of course, and especially Northern Britain, was a highly militarised area with many thousands of soldiers based here. So we have lots of dedication, statuettes too, and evidence for the worship of Mars across the province. And Lucy, I'm just blown away by the amount of detail on this small sculpture too. I mean, even the horse mane, you can see the little straight lines on the mane itself, as you mentioned the saddle, and you can see the clothing as well. It's absolutely stunning the amount of detail they've packed into this really quite small object. Indeed and when this object was new it would have been even more detailed and

magnificent. It's as the rest of the hoard it's in incredibly good condition but there are some bits of wear on this object so the detail would have been even more striking when new. There are some elements to this object missing. When new, the statue would have stood upright on a small base. And in fact, if we look closely at the horse's hooves, you can see that one of those pegs still survives that would have slotted into that base. Onto object number three in the hoard. A simple yet remarkable little artefact, a plumbob. And Lucy, let's talk about this very, very different object in the hoard, the plumbob. This is an object which you mentioned is really interesting to you in particular.

So it might seem strange after we've looked at the beautiful statues in the hoard, the fantastic bust, to focus in on this slightly less beautiful object. But actually, this is one of the most interesting objects in the hoard for me. So plumbobbs were used for building projects, for measuring straight lines and they could also be used in multiples as part of a Roman tool called a groma which would have been used for larger landscape management projects, the laying out of a newydd. Mae plumbobau fel ddewr yn eithaf standardig yn eu ffordd, maen nhw'n ffuncionol, felly maen nhw'n cael eu gwneud fel gwaith sy'n cael ei ddysgu. Ond mae'r enghraifft hon yn un yn arbennig, un o'r fawr a'r ddifrifol.

Ac hefyd, mae'n amlwg iawn o ble y gallai fod wedi cael ei ddefnyddio unwaith neu ddwy. Os ydym yn edrych ar y top o'r obiect, gallwn weld sut y gweithiodd. twice. If we look at the top of this object we can see how it worked. The holes here were used to suspend the object using twine on a long line. And the hole on the side that would also be linked up to the hole on the top to link it all together as a sort of knot would it? Yes absolutely this object is quite heavy so you would need to be able to secure it fairly strongly. The inclusion yn eithaf gwahanol. Mae cynnwys y plwmbob hwn, gwaith gweithredu mewn cwrdd o'r math hwn, yn rhyfeddol. Mae'n gwneud y cwrdd Rydail yn ddiddorol iawn. Oes y gynrychiadau hyn wedi cael eu gorfod fel gofnod i ddod o hyd i llwyddiant un o'r prosiectau hyn? A oes y plwmbob hwn of these projects and could this little plum bob have been included as an object that was used during the project to give a certain potency to the blessing? I mean Lucy it's absolutely

fascinating because sometimes when you're looking at ancient Rome you focus on religion worship and you focus on farming as two very completely different things so it's wonderful to be talking about these two things and seeing connections, links through this hoard, through how the fact that these items have been buried together. Absolutely, we know that many and most aspects of Roman life were filled with religious practice, magic and ritual, but it's rare that we actually get to see the evidence of it especially in the rural the countryside parts of our county yes lucy did just mention magic which leads us on nicely to the fourth and final object of the rydell hoard a small broken key created in the shape of a horse. So magical beliefs and practices were interwoven with religion and life in the Roman period.

Sometimes it's quite difficult to definitively find magical practice in the archaeological record, that there might have been magical elements to the burial of this hoard. So this little broken key may have been believed to have magical properties and may have been included in the hoard for magical reasons. We don't know whether the object, the key was broken before it went in the ground or whether it corroded as iron often does within the ground. If we look at this edge here, you can see the broken locking bit of the key, that iron shaft which is broken away. We don't know whether this key was broken in the ground, whether this iron shank corroded,

or whether it may have been broken before it was buried and was included in the hoard as a broken object, which would be really interesting and hints at magical practice. The decoration in itself is once again stunning and it's interesting how we've got a second horse in this hoard isn't it and once again I mentioned the mane last time you saw the details on the mane once again you can really see this rich detail in the mane you can see the eyes the teeth the mouth the hooves everything it's stunning once again. Absolutely. This key handle, as with all of the objects in the hoard, shows a real pinnacle of craftspersonship.

These are some of the finest art objects from Roman Yorkshire. And it's very interesting that they've been buried all together. Did you know that some of literature's greatest characters were real people? It's so fascinating, isn't it, that some of the Three Musketeers are also based on real soldiers. That Sir Walter Raleigh wasn't all that he's been cracked up to be. Chemist, poet, scholar, historian, courtier. He could have been great in all these different things. And that if your name is Dudley, you better watch your back.

For the Tudors, each one of them took something from the Dudleys, either by working with a member of the Dudley family, or, of course, by having one executed. I'm Professor Susanna Lipscomb, and I'm learning all this and much more, bringing you Not Just the Tudors twice a week, every week. Subscribe now to Not Just the Tudors from History Hit, wherever you get your podcasts. Fittingly for such a stunning set of objects is the extraordinary story of their discovery.

I met up with avid metal detectorist Mark Didlick, who, along with his friend James Spark, uncovered the hoard two years ago. So Mark, talk me through the discovery of this incredible set of objects that are now on display at the Yorkshire Museum. Yeah, it was a real strange day. We'd sort of been out most of the day and fines wise was not a lot. And there was a field, I said, we'll go try this field just at the bottom. And we actually got to the fields. The grass was about that long. So there's no way we could detect it. It was far too long.

And I said, there's one, there's another field on the other side of the road. I said, I've only been in it once or twice, which I've only ever found really Georgian stuff. I mean, I probably haven't done two or three hours in that particular field. That's like 300 years ago or that kind of length if you're talking Georgian. Yeah, Georgian. Anyhow, within 10 minutes of being in that field, them items were getting discovered. And it was just surreal. It was from going from a quiet day to actually

seeing those objects to me the hobby is about that do you know what i mean it's seeing something i mean we couldn't even find anything similar on the internet i was just mind-blowing so what was the first object which you and james uncovered it was a horse and rider james had found it and to be honest i don't think he knew what it was. He sort of just popped it in his bag and carried on. It was just when we went and had a break and he was sort of, I said, have you found anything? And he showed me this horse and rider. And I don't know, something inside me, oh, geez, that's really, really old.

And I didn't think it was Roman. I thought maybe a thousand years old not 1800. and when you were unearthing these following artifacts for instance the head of marcus aurelius was that head staring up at you in the ground from the earth or how did it look like initially when you got that particular artifact out of the ground we actually thought it was going to be a bronze age accent because a lot of you've noticed the bottom of the bust it's sort of rounded yes and the socket accents are similar in shape it was sort of gradually just sort of picking away at the dirt just trying to release it just about to see what it was really then all of a sudden the bus just sort of fell and looked at both of us. And it just had clumps of mud in its eyes.

It was amazing. It sort of hypnotised us, really. It was just unreal. The finds themselves date to the late 2nd century AD, roughly a century after York was first founded by the Roman 9th Legion in around 70 AD. Although still quite early in York's Roman history, this was an exciting time in the development of this northern bastion. So Lucy, the Rydale Hoard, how does it fit into the whole story,

the whole chronology of Roman York? Because York in the 2nd century, it's so much more than just a military fortress, isn't it? Absolutely. The 2nd century is almost Roman Yorkshire's golden age. The preceding first century it's all about the military establishments establishing the major fortress here at Eberrackham. However in the second century we start to see the civilian town grow and thrive.

The major rich suburbs to the south of the Ouse begin to develop and we see the establishment of stone buildings, elite dwellings and institutions, public institutions. We know that in this period it's where a lot of our collections here at the Yorkshire ym Mhrofiad Cymru, ac maen nhw'n dangos faint o fywyd fawr oedd llawer o'r arwain o Ibarachem yn byw. Yn ystod hwn, rydym yn gweld cyfnod mewn cynhyrchu lleol, felly cynhyrchu poder, gwasanaethau drosglwyddo a chyflawni, ac rydym hefyd yn gweld cyfnod mewn and we also see a peak in trade and exchange. So Ibarakam is the centre of an empire-wide network with materials and goods coming in from France, from Italy, from all over the empire. We find evidence of them here in Ibarakam. It's absolutely fascinating, isn't it, when you look at the context of the Rydale Hoard discovery.

York at this time, you mentioned you've got the town on the other side of the river Ouse it's really starting to grow now these various types of buildings temples you know crafts places and so much more elite houses as you were saying but it also serves to emphasize doesn't it how York has becoming has become or is becoming this central node in Roman Yorkshire but still I'm guessing has connections to those places further out in the countryside to places such as Rydale where the hoard was discovered. Absolutely so the fine spot of the hoard near Ampleforth in the Rydale district of North Yorkshire is now rural it's the countryside and it was in the Roman period as well. We don't know of any major buildings near the fine spot of the hoard however the Romans stamped their infrastructure across this whole region through a network of roads, forts and fortlets and it really meant that nowhere was that far from

Roman culture and influence and we know that in the rural areas of North Yorkshire especially in the second century major land reorganisation was occurring. Farming estates were developing, some owned by Roman veterans, some owned by wealthy locals, were being changed to incorporate new farming practices and new styles of building and technologies of estate making. So even though the fine spot of the Ryadale Hoard was very much in the countryside, we can imagine it in a countryside that was bustling and full of activity. Very much so. It therefore begs the big, all-important question. Who buried this hoard of objects

deep in the countryside of 2nd century Roman Yorkshire? The Yorkshire Museum has put forward four potential theories. And the first is that it was buried by a priest of the imperial cult inspired by the sceptre head of Marcus Aurelius. imperial cult inspired by the sceptre head of Marcus Aurelius. That sceptre head would have been used as a focus of worship and religious ceremonies which honoured the emperor as a god. Those ceremonies would have been carried out and overseen by specific people, priests of the imperial cult, an official role known as a severe augustales and we know that these priests

were living and working in York and in Northern Britain. Another possibility is that it was a soldier that buried the hoard, an idea inspired by the Mars figurine. Ibaraki started its life as a major fortress, home to some 5,000 Roman legionaries and in fact the whole of northern Britain was a highly militarized zone. By the second century we are close to the frontier, Hadrian's Wall, and the whole region is dotted with smaller military infrastructure. There would have been literally tens of thousands of soldiers in this area and we have a wealth of archaeological evidence for soldiers living here, whether it

being the stamped tiles and pottery that they produced in official workshops, whether it's hordes of coins that were buried by soldiers, burying their precious wages for safekeeping whilst they perhaps march north on a campaign beyond the wall. We have a wealth of evidence here and it is quite possible that perhaps this hoard, the Ryadale hoard, was buried by a soldier, perhaps as a dedication to his favourite god, Mars, to keep him safe. While these objects are very special to us now, there is also a chance that these items were collected purely for their material worth. And the third candidate for who buried this hoard

is a metalworker, someone who had intended on melting down the hoard for repurposing the materials. This might seem absolutely wild as a theory, but we have many examples of metal workers' hoards. In fact, we have on display in the exhibition objects from the largest metal workers' hoard from Roman Britain, found in Knaresborough. Now 27 bronze vessels survive, but it originally included many, many more. And this shows the practice of hoarding metal objects,

which could, of course, be recycled and melted down. It shows that it was happening in Roman Yorkshire. So perhaps that can be an interpretation for this hoard. Slightly different interpretation, isn't it? But as you say, you've got that other evidence. And maybe that explains the whole variety of objects, from that plumb bob to the statue head, potentially of Marcus Aurelius, to the horses.

Maybe that variation is explained by the fact that it wasn't a soldier, it wasn't a priest, it could just have been a craftsperson. Perhaps they are a somewhat random collection of items that were grouped together by a metal worker. The last theory proposes that the hoard was buried by a farmer due to the inclusion of the plumbob. This theory asks the question, why was a functional tool found alongside such different types of items?

Perhaps the answer to that question is because the tool is associated with the act that burying the hoard is trying to bless with good luck. Perhaps the Ryadale hoard was buried at the culmination of a ritual which was enacted to bless an act of landscape management. We know that the fine spot for the hoard is very rural today and it was in the heart of the Roman countryside in the second century. This is so fascinating because as we mentioned inside you know we sometimes look at religion and farming as two completely separate things when looking at ancient Rome but perhaps with this theory here you can see the evidence of how very much so they were linked these two things were very much linked together and it makes complete sense. Blessing for a good harvest and so on. So you can really see the logic, can't you, behind

a farmer wanting to bury these sorts of items? Absolutely. The Rydale Hoard is a fantastic reminder that religion and ritual practice was absolutely embedded into every aspect of everyday life and work for Roman people. When you're a farmer you absolutely rely on a successful crop. There are lots of variable factors especially in rainy North Yorkshire that could cause your crop to fail and your livelihood to potentially be lost. You would want the gods on your side in your work and giving them an offering such as a votive burial of a hoard is perhaps one way that a farmer may get the gods on their side.

The four theories that we lay out in the exhibition are just the starting point. We want visitors to explore the objects, explore the hoard and come up with their own theories. However, if I had to put my money on who buried the hoard Rydyn ni eisiau i ymweld â'r adeiladau, y hordd a chyflawni eu theoriadau eu hunain. Ond os oeddwn i'n rhaid i mi roi fy mwy o arian ar y rhan sy'n cael ei ddodd y hordd a'i ateb, byddwn i'n ymwneud â'r stori o ffermwr yn cael ei ddodd y hordd, i ddiolch am reoli'r lles a chynnal, i ail-ddiogelu'r lland ar eu hanes. Y rheswm ar gyfer hynny yw'r cynllun o'r plombob yn y hordd. management, of re-parceling of land on their estate. The reason for that is just that inclusion

of the plumb bob in the hoard. It answers that question and it's that question that makes the hoard truly unique. These small bronze objects had rested in the ground for almost 2,000 years. Now they sit centre stage in the Yorkshire Museum on display for people to visit and to make up their own minds as to who buried this mysterious hoard. Deservedly, they rest among Yorkshire's most significant Roman objects. So I asked Mark, in the wake of all of this, how it felt that these objects were now centre stage, on display at the Yorkshire Museum.

We both wanted them to end up in York, and they've had a hell of a journey, to be honest. Like I say, they've got to be there for a very long time now, and it lets everyone see them, doesn't it? There's a lot more to learn from the items as well, I think. Much more to learn, so let's see what's going to happen in the future.

This feels like the end of one chapter but the beginning of a completely new chapter, so let's see. Rich in detail, varied in purpose and linked to an intriguing mystery these objects might be small but they tell an amazing story in the history of roman yorkshire well there you go there was dr lucy crichton and Mark Didlick telling the story of the discovery of this great set of Roman artefacts from Yorkshire. The Rydell Hoard, which is currently on display at the Yorkshire Museum. You can go and see these objects for yourself up close. Look at the incredible details.

If you can't make it to York anytime soon, well, we've released a small documentary all about it with all the visuals of these four items. You can see it on our History Hit YouTube channel. We'll put a link to it in the description below. But I do hope you've enjoyed this special episode on the Rydell Hoard. Now, last but certainly not least, if you'd like more ancients content in the meantime, you know what you can do. You know what I'm going to say. You can subscribe to our weekly ancients newsletter via a link in the description below. Every week I write a bit of a blurb for that newsletter saying what's been going on in Team Ancient History Hit World that week. And finally, if you'd also be kind enough to leave us a lovely rating

on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from, we, the whole Ancients team, we'd greatly appreciate it as we continue to share these incredible stories from our distant past. But that's enough from me, and I'll see you in the next episode.