The Morley St Peter Hoard

The significance of the find lies both in its size and in its spanning of the late 9th and early 10th centuries, a period earlier than that embraced by the very few other Late Saxon hoards from this area. Its importance is further enhanced by the fact that it is believed to have been recovered in its entirety, whereas a majority of hoards of this period are feared to have suffered some dispersal at least before they could be recorded and assessed by numismatists.The new hoard has come to light in the grounds of Wymondham College in the parish of Morley St Peter some twelve miles south-west of Norwich (Nat. Grid. 62/076984). During January 1958 trenches were dug for new foundations, but heavy snow impeded progress, and its melting caused the side of one trench to collapse. When two bricklayers began to clean up the trench on the morning of 27 January, fragments of a broken pot and a shower of silver 'discs' fell into the trench between them at a depth of 2 ft. 3 in. To the finders the coins looked like 'mineral-water bottle caps', but the men noticed that some bore a portrait, and sought the help of one of the masters at the College. He at once appreciated their importance, and, suspecting that they were Saxon coins, conveyed 874 of them to the headmaster, Mr R. V. Metcalfe, who promptly telephoned news of the discovery to the Castle Museum, Norwich

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Fell · Hoard · Period (music) · Portrait · Trench · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology · Historical and Archaeological Studies · History · Medieval Literature and History · Paleontology

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