Hoard of silver drinking cups
Roman Britain, late 1st century AD
Found in Hockwold cum Wilton, Norfolk (1962)
These silver wine-cups may have formed part of the wealth of a
Romano-British shrine. They had been deliberately dismantled and
crushed before burial, reducing them to silver bullion. Because of
their fragmentary condition, it was difficult for archaeologists to
interpret the hoard. At first the cups were widely believed to date
to the first century BC, and the number of vessels was thought to
be five. It was only after careful re-shaping that the objects
could be properly studied and understood. The original condition is
an essential part of their history and has been carefully recorded
both in photographs and in replicas made of one cup before
restoration.
The vessels were designed as high-quality tableware. One cup,
without handles, has relief decoration of vines and olives. There
is also a separate pedestal which exactly matches that of this cup.
Two matching kantharoi have engraved Bacchic motifs, and
there is a single undecorated handled cup, and two pairs of handles
from additional vessels. Wine-cups were generally made in matching
pairs, so many elements are missing.
T.W. Potter, Roman Britain, 2nd edition (London, The British Museum Press, 1997)
C. Johns, 'The Roman silver cups from Hockwold, Norfolk', Archaeologia-9, 108 (1986), pp. 2-13