Multi-gem jewelry from Ephesus, left (Pülz 2020, color pl. 26, cat. no. S184, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en), and Hoxne, right (credit to The Trustees of the British Museum [used online under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license]). Credit: Journal of Roman Archaeology (2025). DOI: 10.1017/S1047759424000278

Jewelry in a Roman treasure hoard found in Thetford Forest, East Anglia, indicates that Thetford was Pagan until the fifth century, which is longer than previously believed, a new paper in the Journal of Roman Archaeology.

The Thetford treasure was first found by a metal detectorist trespassing on a at Fison's Way on Gallows Hill, Thetford in 1979. It consisted of 81 objects, including 22 gold finger-rings, other gold jewelry, and 36 silver spoons or strainers. It is now in the collections of the British Museum and can be seen on display there.

The author of the research, Professor Ellen Swift of the University of Kent, argues that there is compelling evidence that the treasure was buried in the fifth century rather than the late fourth.

Swift says, "Since wider evidence found at the site confirms the religious context previously established by inscriptions on the spoons within the hoard, this means, remarkably, that the re-dating of the Thetford hoard suggests a Pagan cult center survived there into the fifth century. The site's economic assets, indicated by the value and variety of the hoard, also show that it may have wielded significant power and authority locally."

Thetford cat. no. 9 decoration, left, (credit: The Trustees of the British Museum [used online under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license]) compared to face masks and decoration on bracteate from Fride, right (from Toth 2016, fig. 42, © Balint Toth, by kind permission). Note also the similarity of the circle motif at the bottom and the hoop decoration on the Thetford finger-ring. Credit: Journal of Roman Archaeology (2025). DOI: 10.1017/S1047759424000278

This new chronology is supported by detailed comparisons of multiple objects (both spoons and jewelry) with context-dated finds from continental Europe, and with objects from the fifth century Hoxne hoard in the British Museum, which was found more recently than the Thetford hoard and contains many similar items.

The paper also shows that Britain was less isolated than previously believed, with the items in the originating from across the Roman empire.

The Thetford jewelry especially is highly varied in style, suggesting the different pieces originated in different places. Some of the latest-dating finger-rings in the hoard likely originated in northern Italy or adjacent regions, and the necklace with conical beads is from the Balkans area of Europe.

Most of the is generically "Mediterranean Roman" in style, illustrating a geographically widespread shared culture among elites.

More information: Ellen Swift, Rethinking the date and interpretation of the Thetford treasure: a 5th-c. hoard of gold jewelry and silver spoons, Journal of Roman Archaeology (2025).

Provided by Cambridge University Press