2012-09-11 — /travelprnews.com/ — One of the most significant and exciting archaeological discoveries in Jersey’s history is to be put on public display, for a limited period of time.
The hoard of Celtic coins unearthed from a field in Grouville in June is currently being held at a secure location by Jersey Heritage. But following intense media interest from around the world in the discovery it has been decided to give Islanders and visitors an opportunity to see the find up close.
The coins, which are still largely contained within a single pile, will be put on display in the foyer of the Jersey Museum at Weighbridge Place for three days as part of the Hidden Treasures festival that has been conceived and organised by Jersey Tourism in association with Jersey Heritage, the National Trust for Jersey and the Société Jersiaise to celebrate the Island’s natural and built heritage.
The operation to move the coins, believed to be some 52,000 in number, is a delicate one and will be undertaken using specialist equipment and under tight security. The display has been sponsored by LloydsTSB. Throughout the exhibition talks will be given by Jersey Heritage’s Curator of Archaeology Olga Finch and by Neil Mahrer, the conservator who has been carrying out initial work on separating, cleaning and cataloguing the coins.
Jon Carter, Director of Jersey Heritage said: ‘This find is one of the most significant in modern times and it is only right that the public should have an opportunity to experience what is a truly remarkable sight. It is a core objective of the heritage organisations in Jersey to make our heritage as accessible as possible to the public, when appropriate to do so. The discovery, excavation and conservation of this hoard of coins, and ultimately its public exhibition as part of the Hidden Treasures festival, has been the result of a tremendous team effort and we are grateful to the landowner, the finders, Reg Mead and Richard Miles, the Société Jersiaise and to LloydsTSB for making this possible.’
Donna Le Marrec of Jersey Tourism said: ‘This will provide a very special element of the Hidden Treasures festival. We wanted to show visitors what an incredibly rich and diverse culture and history Jersey has and there is no finer example than this immensely important find.’
The coins will be on display from Thursday 13th to Saturday 15th September from 10 am until 5pm daily. Once the exhibition has ended the coins will be returned to a secure location where further conservation work can be carried out. They are unlikely to be shown publicly again for some time as the painstaking work has to be carried out in controlled conditions.
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