Bateman 'ticket' lead tablet

DERSB : 3019

Lead tablet left by Thomas Bateman after his excavations at Five Wells barrow in 1846.

Inscribed lead tablets have been found at a number of Bateman's excavation sites. He used them as a sort of calling card. This one was recovered during a later excavation by Micah Salt in 1899.

Micah Salt (1847-1915) was a tailor in Buxton who had a great interest in archaeology. This was usually a hobby of the elite and he was described, rather condescendingly, in a contemporary journal as "an intelligent tradesman". Salt excavated many lows (burial mounds) around Buxton, and acquired finds from local farmers and landowners. His findings were collated by W Turner and published in 1899 as Ancient Remains near Buxton: The Archaeological Explorations of Micah Salt. This book records many of the first objects that were given to the museum.