An inventory of precious items discovered within Thetford Forest, located in East Anglia, provides compelling indicators that Thetford maintained its adherence to pagan practices until the 5th century CE. This temporal placement extends significantly beyond the previously accepted period, circa 380-90s CE.
The collection of artifacts known as the Thetford treasure was unearthed in 1979 by an individual utilizing a metal detector on restricted land at Fison’s Way, situated on Gallows Hill in Thetford.
This remarkable cache comprised 81 artifacts, encompassing 22 gold finger rings, other exquisite gold adornments, and 36 silver utensils, which may have served as either spoons or strainers.
A portion of the jewelry was housed within a box crafted from shale, with the remaining items discovered in close proximity to this container.
The conspicuous absence of coinage among the unearthed objects presented a considerable dating challenge for the research team.
The entirety of this hoard is presently maintained within the British Museum’s extensive collections and is accessible to the public for viewing.
“There exists robust substantiation suggesting that the treasure was interred during the 5th century CE, rather than the late 4th century CE,” stated Professor Ellen Swift, an accomplished archaeologist affiliated with the University of Kent.
“Considering that broader evidence retrieved from the site corroborates the religious context previously inferred from inscriptions found on the spoons within the hoard, this implies, quite remarkably, that a pagan cultic center persisted in this locale well into the 5th century CE.”
“Furthermore, the economic prowess of the site, as evidenced by the considerable value and diversity of the hoard’s contents, suggests it may have commanded substantial local influence and authority.”
This revised chronological framework is bolstered by meticulous comparative analyses of numerous objects, including both spoons and jewelry, against artifacts with established dating from continental Europe. Additionally, it aligns with items recovered from the 5th-century Hoxne hoard, also housed at the British Museum, which, discovered subsequent to the Thetford treasure, features numerous comparable pieces.
Professor Swift’s investigations also revealed that Britain’s interconnectedness was more profound than previously acknowledged, with the artifacts within the treasure originating from various regions across the Roman Empire.
“The singular pieces of jewelry found in the Thetford hoard exhibit considerable stylistic variation, indicating that the diverse elements originated from distinct geographical locations,” Professor Swift elaborated.
“Certain finger rings within the hoard, representing the most recent temporal markers, likely hail from northern Italy or its adjacent territories, while the necklace adorned with conical beads originates from the Balkan region of Europe.”
“The majority of the jewelry adheres to a generic ‘Mediterranean Roman’ aesthetic, signifying a shared cultural identity among elites that spanned vast geographical distances.”
The scholarly article detailing these findings was disseminated through the esteemed Journal of Roman Archaeology.
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Ellen Swift. 2024. Rethinking the date and interpretation of the Thetford treasure: a 5th-c. hoard of gold jewelry and silver spoons. Journal of Roman Archaeology 37 (2): 409-448; doi: 10.1017/S1047759424000278
