November 16, 1992

Cast your minds back to distant history. Say 1992. Say Suffolk, England. Say you rent a farm from the Suffolk County itself. And say, you and your buddy find the largest buried treasure trove ever found, in Britain. It happened that way, November 16, 1992. The items composing the treasure had been carefully packed in a wooden chest, and the experts say, judging by the coins, gold and silver, that the chest was buried between 405 and 450 AD.

Who buried this treasure? The experts say we will never know for sure. The hiding of the wealth suggests chaos, danger, and the expectation that later, one can return and retrieve it. One site says:

"The owners of the treasure, perhaps a wealthy landowner and his wife–there are Roman names inscribed on some of the items–might have buried it to keep it out of the hands of brigands or thieves. Or thieves themselves might have buried it, after looting the stuff from a wealthy estate. It might have been buried to de-emphasize the owners’ formerly Roman identity....

"Clearly something unusual was going on in this part of England at that time. The Hoxne Hoard [as this trove is named] is not the only buried treasure from this era found in the area. In 1781 a lead box full of Roman coins was unearthed just 2 miles from where the Hoxne treasure was eventually found. Other similar hoards have been found in various parts of Britain, and some may remain undiscovered. What caused rich people to suddenly run around burying boxes of treasure all over the place? This is a fascinating historical mystery..."

Among the gold and silver objects and coins was "most curiously, a silver tigress emphasizing six prominent teats."

Here is a picture--





According to the BBC,  "The silver tigress is an ornate handle which looks to have been deliberately removed from a tall vase." [© Trustees of the British Museum]