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WonderRoman treasure fact

The Hoxne Hoard, found in Suffolk in 1992, is the largest hoard of late Roman gold and silver ever found in Britain: nearly 15,000 coins, with jewellery, spoons and pepper pots, buried early in the fifth century.

Suffolk, England, c. AD 408

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The story behind the card

Eric Lawes, a retired gardener with a metal detector, found it on 16 November 1992 while helping a farmer, Peter Whatling, look for a lost hammer. When silver spoons and gold coins appeared, he stopped and reported the find, so archaeologists could excavate it the next day with the objects largely in place, packed inside the remains of an oak chest. The latest coins show it was buried after AD 407, as Roman rule in Britain was ending. Among its treasures are four silver pepper pots, one shaped as the bust of an elegant lady and known as the Empress; pepper, most likely what they held, came from India. Lawes and Whatling shared the £1.75 million reward. The hoard is now at the British Museum in London.

Türkçe oku
1992'de İngiltere'nin Suffolk bölgesinde bulunan Hoxne Definesi, Britanya'da bugüne kadar çıkan en büyük geç Roma altın ve gümüş definesidir: takılar, kaşıklar ve karabiberliklerle birlikte 15 bine yakın sikke. MS 5. yüzyılın başında toprağa gömülmüştü.
Suffolk, İngiltere, MS 408 civarı

Metal dedektörü meraklısı emekli bahçıvan Eric Lawes, defineyi 16 Kasım 1992'de, çiftçi Peter Whatling'in kaybettiği çekici aramasına yardım ederken buldu. Gümüş kaşıklar ve altın sikkeler görününce kazmayı bıraktı ve buluntuyu bildirdi. Böylece arkeologlar ertesi gün, eşyaların çoğu hâlâ çürümüş bir meşe sandığın içinde yerli yerindeyken kazı yapabildi. En geç tarihli sikkeler, definenin MS 407'den sonra, Roma'nın Britanya'daki egemenliği sona ererken gömüldüğünü gösteriyor. Hazinenin en ilginç parçaları arasında dört gümüş karabiberlik var; biri zarif bir kadının büstü biçiminde yapılmış ve “İmparatoriçe” adıyla anılıyor. İçlerinde büyük olasılıkla Hindistan'dan gelen karabiber vardı. Lawes ile Whatling, 1,75 milyon sterlinlik ödülü paylaştı. Define bugün Londra'daki British Museum'da.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Hoxne Hoard
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