Press release
              British Museum 
              reveals exciting rare 
              finds to be acquired 
              by museums across 
              the UK as the latest 
              Treasure report is 
              published
                     Press images: https://bit.ly/3sLylVr 
                            Rare recent finds include a quirky medieval ‘snail man’ mount which may have been 
                             tantamount to a meme and Iron Age grave goods, including an uncommonly decorated
                             mirror and tweezers. Other Treasure finds range from a medieval seal matrix depicting 
                             an elephant to a Bronze Age hoard with unusual rapier and bracelet.
                            Treasure finds are to be acquired by museums across the country, many close to the 
                             place in which they were found.  
                            The finds were announced as the most recent Treasure Report reveals that 1,094 cases
                             were reported Treasure in 2018 with a third of these acquired by museums.
                     The latest Treasure Annual Report, covering finds made in 2018, was released today, 
                     announced by Caroline Dinenage MP, Minister of State for Digital and Culture and the British 
                     Museum. This report showcases that 1,094 cases were reported Treasure in 2018, consisting of
                     over 20,906 individual artefacts. 347 of these cases were acquired by 108 different museums. 
                     An overwhelming majority of these (93%) were acquired by museums local to the findspot, 
                     meaning that most finds retain their local context by staying in the area close to where they 
                     were found. 22% of these acquiring cases have seen one or more interested party generously 
                     waive their reward, making it much easier for local museums to acquire these finds for public 
                     benefit without the need for fundraising. More than 96% of Treasure finds in 2018 were found 
                     by metal-detectorists. Preliminary Treasure figures for more recent years are currently 1,311 for 
                     2019 and 1,077 for 2020.
                     At the end of last year, the Government published its response to the public consultation on 
                     changes to the Treasure Act 1996. Under the changes, a new definition of treasure will be 
                     developed which will take into account the historical and cultural significance of a find rather 
                     than solely considering its material qualities.
                     To coincide with this report, the British Museum also announces more recent Treasure finds of 
                     significance. These objects, which finders have a legal obligation to report, will now go through 
                     the Treasure process and include a unique medieval meme of a ‘snail man’:
         A quirky and unique medieval ‘snail man’ mount (SWYOR-4E467E) from Pontefract, West 
         Yorkshire, found in 2020, which may have been a form of medieval meme. Dating from 
         AD 1200–1350, the mount depicts a human figure emerging from a snail shell on the back of a 
         goat, of which no close parallel has been identified. The male knight wears a Norman style 
         helmet with a long-sleeved tunic and one leg lunging forwards, suggesting the man is stepping 
         out from the shell. The figure's hands are pressed together as if in prayer, implying it has 
         religious connotations. Depictions of snail combat are a mysterious medieval phenomenon – 
         armed knights fighting snails are common in manuscripts from this period. Suggested allusions 
         range from references to the Resurrection, to associations with a repentant thief and cowardice.
         It has also been thought this may also allude to a stigma against the Lombards, who were seen 
         as cowardly and malicious in Northern Europe – the traditional ‘good versus evil’ struggle is 
         thereby reflected in the chivalrous knight fighting the slimy snail. The mount’s more comical 
         fusion of snail and man remains unexplained by this theory. This could suggest that the original 
         ‘good versus evil’ meaning has mutated to satirical connotations, a cultural phenomenon that 
         means we can see this mount as an early meme. Wakefield Museum hopes to acquire.
         Beverley Nenk, Curator: Later Medieval Collections, said: “This unusual silver-gilt mount 
         may once have been attached to a leather belt or strap, or perhaps worn as a badge. The 
         image of the praying knight emerging from a snail shell atop a goat implies an element of 
         parody or satire. Snails are often depicted in the margins of medieval illuminated decorated 
         manuscripts and are thought to symbolise cowardice, and this may be the intended meaning. 
         The mount may be a satirical reference to cowardly or non-chivalric behaviour of opponents in 
         battle, or as a parody of the upper or knightly classes. As such, it demonstrates the humour 
         often found in medieval material culture.”
         Gold medieval seal matrix (NMS-CB2CBE) from near King’s Lynn with a Roman intaglio 
         engraved with an elephant carrying a castle or howdah on its back, discovered in 2020. This is 
         the third such gold seal matrix to be recorded through the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities 
         Scheme (PAS), showing how rare they are. Dating between AD 1250 and 1350, elephants 
         appear in examples of early medieval art as a symbol of fidelity, gentleness, great strength and 
         longevity, including Romanesque sculpture and Byzantine silks. The castle reflects the animal’s 
         close association with the east, where Indians and Persians were said to use such structures to
         fight from in battle. A live elephant was present in the royal menagerie of Henry III at the Tower 
         of London between 1255–1257 as a gift from Louis IX of France. The anonymous inscription 
         reads x PARMAT EST ‧ WEVEI ‧ DRA OBEST, likely meaning 'armed with a shield, the outlaw 
         dragon is harmful', which suggests a mythic link between elephants and dragons – it was said 
         that a dragon is an elephant’s only foe. Norwich Castle Museum hopes to acquire.
         Beverley Nenk, Curator: Later Medieval Collections, said: “This gold counter-seal, or private
         seal, would have been used to seal letters or documents, and demonstrated the wealth, status 
         and education of its owner. The motif engraved on the gemstone is a rare portrayal of an 
         elephant from the medieval period, which is found mainly on objects signifying wealth and 
         status, such as carved ivory gaming pieces and heraldic badges. It is represented with a war-
         tower, or howdah, on its back, which subsequently became known as the ‘elephant and castle’ 
         of heraldic iconography. Few people in medieval England would have seen a live elephant. The 
         image may have been based on reports of these fabulous and exotic creatures from travellers 
         or pilgrims returning from the East or from the Crusades, or from descriptions and images in 
         bestiaries and other manuscripts.     
         Various Iron Age objects (BH-72C17B) dating between 80 BC–AD 100, were found at 
         Bedfordshire, including a decorated bronze mirror, a pair of tweezers, a pin and numerous 
         fragments from bronze vessels, as well as a ceramic vessel. Incorporating items associated 
         with both feasting and personal appearance, these are likely grave goods from a cremation 
         burial. The polished bronze mirror is characteristic of the Iron Age in southern Britain, with only 
         around 30 decorated examples currently known. The mirror is in several parts, comprising a 
         handle and two substantial pieces of bronze sheet, which would have formed a kidney-shaped 
         mirror plate. On the back, the plate is decorated in the European Iron Age La Tène style, 
         comprising tear, fin, circular and trumpet-shaped motifs. The plain front of the plate would have 
         been polished to create a reflective surface. The looped mirror handle is decorated with 
         grooves and has a narrow, rectangular slot in which part of the mirror plate remains in situ. It is 
         rare for tweezers from this period to be decorated, but the example from this find is engraved 
         with three circles, each containing a basket-weave tricorn element dividing the circle into three. 
         The circles are separated by basket-weave fin motifs, all within a plain border. The Culture 
         Trust, Luton, hopes to acquire in due course.
         Julia Farley, Curator: European Iron Age and Roman conquest period collections, said: 
         “This assemblage likely represents the grave goods from the cremation burial of an important 
         individual. The finds tell us about the care and attention to personal appearance in Late Iron 
         Age Britain; the polished bronze mirror is a rare and exciting find, and the decorated tweezers 
         are unique. The vessels may have been used for serving up part of a funeral feast, or perhaps 
         they were to equip the deceased with food and drink for the afterlife.”
         A bronze rapier blade, measuring over half a metre long and broken into three pieces was 
         found as part of a Bronze Age hoard (SUR-68C46E) from Stalbridge, Dorset. The bronze hilt 
         has been modelled in imitation of a wooden one, and is highly unusual for a find from Britain, 
         with only two other examples known, while other, similar, examples are from Ireland. The metal 
         hilt allows us to appreciate how other, more common, rapier blades – a type of sword – would