AHRC CDP - Hoarding through time: Defining the practice of hoarding and assessing the impact of evolving legislation on its recording and interpretation

About the Project

Hoarding through time: Defining the practice of hoarding and assessing the impact of evolving legislation on its recording and interpretation.

The School of Heritage and Culture, University of Leicester, in partnership with the British Museum invites applications for a Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) studentship funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to undertake research leading to a PhD. The project will explore the phenomenon of hoarding through time. The increase in reported hoards has created an unparalleled dataset, presenting an opportunity to reflect on the nature and significance of hoarding practices. The researcher will consider hoards have been defined across all periods and object types and how these definitions have evolved in relation to the implementation of the Treasure Act.

Project Overview

The Treasure Act and the accompanying Portable Antiquities Scheme will be thirty years old in 2027. Over that time there has been a marked increase in the number and variety of reported hoards. This milestone provides an opportunity to reflect on the nature and significance of hoarding in the archaeological record for different periods and artefact types. This project will, for the first time, draw together and interrogate hoard data for all periods and types in order to critically re-appraise the definition of hoarding. It will also offer a new understanding of the implications of the legal definition for the practice of identifying and interpreting materials as hoards.

The key research questions for the project are as follows:

1. What is a hoard and how has this definition evolved according to legal and theoretical approaches across different archaeological periods and material types?
2. What biases and assumptions influence our interpretation of hoards?
3. Can previous investigations of hoards enhance understanding of past landscapes and better allow us to differentiate between multiple deposits, such as votive or productive sites, and deliberate hoarding?
4. What lessons can be learnt from the implementation of other countries’ treasure legislation?

Research with the British Museum

This research studentship is one allocated to the British Museum by the AHRC. The student will be expected to spend time both at the University of Leicester and the British Museum. The successful applicant will be expected to spend a significant portion of their time carrying out research and gaining relevant experience at The British Museum as part of their studentship. They will also become part of the wider cohort of CDP-funded students across the UK.

The studentship can be studied either full time (4 years) or part-time (7 years) (part time study only available to UK applicants).

We encourage applications from a diverse range of people, from different backgrounds and career stages, including those with relevant career experience.

Start date: 1st October 2026

Application Deadline: Sunday 17 May 2026

Applications received after this date cannot be considered. Candidates will be notified whether they have been shortlisted for interview by Friday 5th June 2026.

Interviews are likely to take place online in the week commencing 8th June 2026.

Enquires to: Dr Philippa Walton pjw48@le.ac.uk and Dr Wendy Scott wscott@britishmuseum.org

Application advice to pgrapply@le.ac.uk

Further information and advice on how to apply please see https://le.ac.uk/study/research-degrees/funded-opportunities/ahrc-cdp-bm-walton

Funding Notes

The studentship provides

• 4 years UK tuition fees (7 years part time)
• 4 years stipend at £23,405 (7 years part time pro rata)

International students are welcome to apply but must be able to demonstrate they can fund the difference between UK and Overseas themselves for the duration of study. The annual fee difference will be £12,762 for 2026/7 and will be required to reside in the UK until completion of the PhD.

*The award pays full maintenance for all students both home and international students.