Abstract
A REMARKABLE find of Roman silver plate of a highly elaborate character at Mildenhall, Suffolk, has recently been reported in the Press. The discovery was made Mr. Sidney Ford, of West Row, Mildenhall, who while ploughing recently, turned up a cicear silver dish which is more than two and a half feet in diameter and weighs some 224 ounces. Further exploration of the ground with a spade brought to light thirty-three more pieces of plate, all of silver and most of them elaborately embossed and ornamented. These include a second large circular dish, slightly smaller than the first, two smaller dishes, embossed with figures, several ornamented bowls, a pair of standing cups, a large fluted bowl with a pentacle as ornament at its centre, a number of detached handles, spoons, small cups and ladles, and a convex ornamented cover with the figure of a child as handle. The large circular dish is a remarkable piece on aesthetic grounds, apart from its size and weight. It is a characteristic example of Romano-British style of the later period of the Roman occupation, crowded with exuberant figures executed with great technical skill (see Illus. London News, June 29). There are many points of interest connected with this find which no doubt will give rise to much discussion in the future. It is possible to mention here only one-that of the dating. It has been suggested that the hoard may have been buried about the end of the third century of our era, that is, about A.D. 300, but a later date by some fifty years seems possible. Apparently this find belongs to that class which consists of household goods of villas buried when in danger from raiders. But according to the evidence of coins from such hoards, this practice did not begin until near the middle of the century and came to an end when in A.D. 367 Romano-British villa life in East Anglia suffered its final blow at the handaf pf barbarian sea-raiders.
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Romano-British Silver Hoard in Suffolk. Nature 158, 18–19 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/158018d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/158018d0