The word ‘treasure’ conjures an image of objects of silver and gold, perhaps encrusted with gemstones, and some treasures dug from the ground certainly match this image (Fig. 1 ). However, a theme that ran through the recent exhibition of Treasure at the British Museum was that the archaeological value of treasure does not depend only on its content of precious metals or gems. Many items recovered from archaeological sites are made from or include natural rocks, minerals and gemstones, so that geological and mineralogical techniques and interpretative approaches often make an essential contribution to their study. This article explores the role of scientific examination in realizing the full archaeological value of treasure. Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Group of items from a Roman hoard, found at Thetford. These objects are not in Treasure but may be seen in Gallery 49 of the British Museum.
