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Hoxne Hoard

1992 archaeological discoveries1992 in EnglandArchaeological sites in SuffolkHistory of SuffolkHoards from Roman Britain
Hoards of jewelleryHoxneMetal detecting finds in EnglandRomano-British objects in the British MuseumTreasure troves in EnglandTreasure troves of Roman BritainTreasure troves of late antiquityUse British English from November 2017
Hoxne Hoard 1
Hoxne Hoard 1

The Hoxne Hoard ( HOK-sən) is the largest hoard of late Roman silver and gold discovered in Britain, and the largest collection of gold and silver coins of the fourth and fifth centuries found anywhere within the former Roman Empire. It was found by Eric Lawes, a metal detectorist in the village of Hoxne in Suffolk, England in 1992. The hoard consists of 14,865 Roman gold, silver, and bronze coins and approximately 200 items of silver tableware and gold jewellery. The objects are now in the British Museum in London, where the most important pieces and a selection of the rest are on permanent display. In 1993, the Treasure Valuation Committee valued the hoard at £1.75 million (about £3.79 million in 2021).The hoard was buried in an oak box or small chest filled with items in precious metal, sorted mostly by type, with some in smaller wooden boxes and others in bags or wrapped in fabric. Remnants of the chest and fittings, such as hinges and locks, were recovered in the excavation. The coins of the hoard date it after AD 407, which coincides with the end of Britain as a Roman province. The owners and reasons for burial of the hoard are unknown, but it was carefully packed and the contents appear consistent with what a single very wealthy family might have owned. It is likely that the hoard represents only a part of the wealth of its owner, given the lack of large silver serving vessels and of some of the most common types of jewellery. The Hoxne Hoard contains several rare and important objects, such as a gold body-chain and silver-gilt pepper-pots (piperatoria), including the Empress pepper pot. The hoard is also of particular archaeological significance because it was excavated by professional archaeologists with the items largely undisturbed and intact. The find helped to improve the relationship between metal detectorists and archaeologists, and influenced a change in English law regarding finds of treasure.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Hoxne Hoard (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Hoxne Hoard
Eye Road, Mid Suffolk

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N 52.3425 ° E 1.1875 °
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Sawmill Barn

Eye Road Home Farm
IP21 5BA Mid Suffolk
England, United Kingdom
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Hoxne Hoard 1
Hoxne Hoard 1
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Denham, Mid Suffolk
Denham, Mid Suffolk

Denham is a village and civil parish in northern Suffolk. Located approximately 3 miles east of Eye, it is within the district of Mid Suffolk. It shares its name with Denham (St Edmundsbury), another Suffolk village. Denham's small population is rather scattered, but chiefly clustered along Hoxne Road and The Street, the latter marked on some maps as 'Denham Street'. Curiously, the parish boundary runs along both these roads meaning the majority of the houses in the parish are at its very edge. After years in planning, a village sign was unveiled near Shingle Hill Corner on 27 September 2008. The Street is one of over 100 roads so named in Suffolk, typically reserved for the main thoroughfare through a 'street village'. The Street in Denham is unusual in that it is now a no-through road, though it is reasonable to suggest that at one time it was the main street for Denham, and presumably led somewhere, perhaps to Redlingfield to the south. The parish church of St John the Baptist is small but full of interest. It stands a little isolated from the main area of settlement, as is common in some East Anglian parishes. Chiefly dating from the 14th and 15th centuries it comprises the nave (with outward bowing walls), chancel, Victorian vestry and redbrick entrance porch. A west tower is thought to have been removed in the early 18th century - the 'new' west wall is chiefly built of red brick. The octagonal font has been restored and is very plain. In the sanctuary is a brass to Anthony Bedingfield, the third son of Sir Edward Bedingfield, 1574, with a palimpsest of Jacobus Wegheschede, c 1500. A bell turret contained a single bell, now to be found by the organ and inscribed I.D. 1614. 3 bells are recorded in 1553, suggesting the west tower still stood at the time. A north chapel has long been removed and the arch blocked in with brick. Here can be found memorials to the Bedingfield family. The building was in a rather parlous state (2009) but since then has been fully repaired chiefly using English Heritage funding. White's Directory of 1844 lists 313 'souls' living in the parish. Apart from farmers, the only trades listed included a corn miller, wheelwright, blacksmith and two beerhouse keepers. By 1937 the situation had changed little except for the disappearance of the miller and addition of a grocery-cum-post office, though the population as of 1931 had fallen to 170. Since then the post office has closed and the only building used for community purposes (apart from the church) is the Village Hall, formerly a guard's hut for Horham Airfield. Indeed, Denham sits amidst an historic landscape of WW2 airfields. Immediately to the east is the site of RAF Horham ('Horrum') airfield (so large that it straddled Denham, Horham and Hoxne parishes), used by the USAAF 95th Bomb Group from 1943 to 1945. Adjacent to Redlingfield Wood in Denham parish is the site of the airfield hospital which has been restored as a museum and a memorial those who served with the 95th in WW2. The Officer's Club at Horham airfield (the 'Red Feather Club', also within Denham parish) has been preserved and like the hospital is occasionally open over summer months. Rumour has it that Glenn Miller, the American Big 'swing' Band leader visited the old Green Man public house in Denham around the time he and his band played at Horham air base on September 10, 1944. Other airfields near Denham included Eye (to the west), Thorpe Abbotts (to the north) and Mendlesham towards the south.