Essex: Archaeologists discover Anglo-Saxon tomb in Prittlewell
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Discovered over the span of nearly 30 years, a total of 131 coins and other gold objects have been dug up by lucky metal detectorists. The Anglo-Saxon treasure has been dated to about 600 AD and has been called England’s biggest hoard of sixth to seventh-century treasure. Most of the gold coins have been identified as Frankish tremisses, which were struck in France.
Among them are also previously unknown coins, nine gold solidi, a coin from the Byzantine Empire and other objects that include a gold bracteate or pendant, a small gold bar, and other bits of gold.
Dr John Naylor, an expert in Early Medieval coins at Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, hailed the incredible discovery.
He tweeted: “A truly remarkable find (although discovered over a 30 year period).
“Not ‘England’s biggest Anglo-Saxon coin hoard’ as the headline states but the biggest one of sixth to seventh-century gold coins, surpassing the Crondall Hoard found in 1828. Incredibly important.”
Individual items from the hoard were discovered by various detectorists and amateur archaeologists between 1991 and 2020.
But it wasn’t until Wednesday when a coroner declared the coins are part of the same Anglo-Saxon hoard.
Some of the latest coins were found by an anonymous detectorist who uncovered the treasure between 2014 and 2020.
It is a mystery where the coins were found as the landowner has also chosen to remain anonymous, although they were found in a single field.
HM Coroner for Norfolk will now determine whether the gold coins qualify as de-facto “treasure” under the Treasure Act of 1996.
Under the Treasure Act, any coins that contain 10 percent or more of precious metals and are more than 300 years old are property of the Crown.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme explained: “In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, all finders of gold and silver objects, and groups of coins from the same finds, over 300 years old, have a legal obligation to report such items under the Treasure Act 1996.
“Prehistoric base-metal assemblages found after January 1, 2003, also qualify as Treasure.”
Museums typically bid to purchase the treasure to be put on display, paying out a reward for the discovery that is the equivalent of full market value.
In this case, Norwich Castle Museum has shown an interest in acquiring the coins with support from the British Museum.
Tim Pestell, the senior curator of archaeology at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, said: “Study of the hoard and its find spot has the potential to unlock our understanding of early trade and exchange systems and the importance of west Norfolk to East Anglia’s ruling kings in the seventh century.”
Gareth Williams, the curator of early medieval coins at the British Museum, added: “This is a hugely important find. It is close in date to the famous ship burial from Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, and although it doesn’t contain as much gold as the whole of the Sutton Hoo burial, it contains many more coins.
“In fact, it is the largest coin hoard of the period known to date.
“It must be seen alongside other recent finds from East Anglia and elsewhere, and will help to transform our understanding of the economy of early Anglo-Saxon England.”
Before it, the so-called Crondall Hoard of 101 coins found in Hampshire in 1828 was the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold found in England.
In 2009, archaeologists have also found the biggest hoard of gold and silver items dating to the Anglo-Saxon period, although it did not include coins.
The Staffordshire hoard found near the village of Hammerwich amounted to nearly 11 pounds (5.1kg) of gold and three pounds (1.4kg) of silver, as well as more some 3,500 pieces of jewellery.
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