The Hoxne hoard
The Hoxne (pronounced 'Hoxon') hoard consists of over
15,000 gold and silver coins, gold jewellery and numerous small
items of silver tableware, including pepper pots, ladles and
spoons. Also found were the remains of a large wooden chest and
smaller caskets with tiny silver padlocks, into which the treasure
had been carefully secreted.
It was discovered in November 1992 by Eric Lawes, who
immediately reported the find and did not remove all the objects
from the ground. This enabled the Suffolk Archaeological Unit
to carry out a controlled excavation of the deposit, which has
greatly enhanced the importance of the Hoxne Treasure for research
in the future.
The silver objects are all quite small: the bulk of these are
around 100 spoons and ladles. Such an extensive collection of
silverware would almost certainly have also included larger table
vessels, such as those in the Mildenhall treasure. A silver handle
in the form of a tigress, apparently deliberately detached from a
tall vase, indicates the existence of at least one such larger
vessel for the table. The unusual selection of jewellery comprises
a body-chain, a small group of necklaces, three finger-rings and 19
bracelets.
The latest of the coin issues in the hoard establishes that its
burial took place some time after AD 407/8. This was the period
when Roman rule was breaking down in Britain, and the Hoxne hoard
might be related to these events. The careful burial of this
treasure probably means that the owner intended to come back and
recover it later, but for whatever reason was unable to do so.
References
C.M. Johns, The Hoxne
Late Roman Treasure: Gold Jewellery and Silver
Plate (London, The British Museum Press, 2010)
T.W. Potter, Roman Britain, 2nd edition (London, The
British Museum Press, 1997)
C.M. Johns and R. Bland, 'The Hoxne late Roman treasure',
Britannia, 25 (1994), pp. 165-73
R. Bland and C.M. Johns, The Hoxne Treasure, an illustrated
Introduction (London, The British Museum Press, 1993)
The Hoxne hoard on the British Museum collection
database online