Treasure Act & Curator's View

The Museum of Chelmsford welcomes new definition of 'treasure'

The Museum of Chelmsford says today’s changes to the Treasure Act will help them to save more important finds for the public. For the first time, the official definition of treasure won’t be based solely on the material an artefact was made from, making it much easier for items of national importance made of non-precious metals like bronze to go on public display. 

In 2017 the Museum of Chelmsford almost missed out on a hugely significant find – which is now one of the star pieces in their Roman gallery. An exceptionally rare Romano-British figurine wearing a hooded woollen cloak called a Birrus Britannicus was found by a metal detectorist in Roxwell. The tiny statue is a unique depiction of someone wearing a distinctively British garment, providing a vital insight into daily life in 4th century Britain. 

The statue was made from copper alloy, so it didn’t count as treasure despite its great cultural value, and the finder decided to sell it abroad. The Arts Minister stopped it from leaving the country until a UK buyer could be found, which gave Chelmsford City Museum the time it needed to raise the necessary funds. The Roman ‘Hoodie’, as it is affectionately known by the museum, is now a key part of it’s collection, giving visitors a tangible link to past residents of the city. 

Chief curator, Dr Mark Curteis says this new definition of treasure will benefit museums across the country:  

“Classifying finds as treasure based on their cultural and historical importance will give local museums a real boost, allowing objects like our Roman figurine a much greater chance of staying in the places where they have most relevance.  

"We could so easily have missed out on the opportunity to keep the Birrus Britannicus figure in Chelmsford; so often, the value of an object doesn’t just lie in the material from which it was made, and these changes will automatically put us at the front of the queue when any exciting finds are made in our area.” 

You can find more information on the Government’s response to the consultation on the revision of the 1996 Treasure Act.

You can read a view from the Curatorial team below:

Retired senior curator Nick Wickenden on how this piece of national importance, which would now be classified as treasure, came to Chelmsford City Museum.

"I knew when I first saw the photos of the Romano-British figurine, which we now call our ‘Hoodie’, that we had to have it for the museum collections. We were about to begin a major redisplay of the Museum of Chelmsford, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Chelmsford City Council, and I knew it should have pride of place in the Roman gallery. Unfortunately, because it is made of copper alloy, it did not count as treasure which would have meant we would have been offered it as a matter of course.

I"t had been found by a metal detectorist at Roxwell. It is a tiny 3D Roman statue, only 6.5cms high, of a native British archer. We know that because he is wearing a cloak like a duffel coat. This is an example of a Birrus Britannicus which is named in a Roman tax edict as one of the main exports from Britannia.

"In 2017 the finder decided to sell it abroad, but the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture Media and Sport agreed the recommendation from the British Museum that its export should be barred, and the Museum of Chelmsford was given the opportunity to purchase it. I jumped at the chance! Even better, we were contacted by a well-wisher from America who donated the purchase price, as an example of goodwill between our two countries.

"The Hoodie stars in the new Roman gallery which opened in July 2019. If you thought wearing a hoodie was something invented by teenagers in recent years, think again!"