Hoxna treasure

Hoxna treasure ^[1] is the largest treasure of silver and gold of the late Roman Empire , found in Great Britain , and the largest collection of gold and silver coins of the 4th and 5th centuries ever discovered within the former Roman Empire. Detected with a metal detector in the village of Khoksni in Suffolk County, England , November 16, 1992, the treasure consists of 14865 Roman gold, silver and bronze coins dating from the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th centuries, and about 200 silverware and gold jewelry. Objects from the treasure are now in the British Museum in London , where the most important objects from it and some other selected ones are part of its permanent exhibition. In 1993, the treasure valuation committee valued the treasure at £ 1.75 million (£ 3.02 million at the 2010 exchange rate).

The treasure was buried in a small oak box filled with items made of precious metals, sorted mainly by type; some of them were placed in even smaller wooden boxes, others were in bags or wrapped in cloth. The remains of the box and its fittings, such as hinges and locks, were found during excavations. With the help of the coins contained in it, the treasure can be dated to about 407 AD. Oe., which almost coincides with the alleged end of the existence of Britain as a Roman province. The owners and the reasons for the burial of the treasure are unknown, but its careful packaging and contents suggest that it may have belonged to a very wealthy family. Given the absence of large silver vessels in the treasure and some of the most common types of jewelry at that time, it is likely that the treasure represents only a fraction of the wealth of its owner.

Hoxne's treasure contains several rare and important objects, including a gold chain and gold-plated pepper boxes (piperatoria), including the so-called "Empress's pepper-box". Hoksnensky treasure is also of great archaeological significance, since it was discovered by non-professional archaeologists, and its elements were mostly preserved and not damaged. The discovery helped improve the relationship between the search engines with metal detectors and archaeologists and influenced the change in English legislation regarding treasure hunt.