Excavations at Quidney Farm, Saham Toney, Norfolk 1995

Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE SITE I n 1992 a remarkable collection of metalwork was discovered at Quidney Farm by Jim McLean a local metal detectorist. The finds came from two discrete areas of a field which is c. 8 hectares in size and located to the north of the farm in Saham Toney parish (FIGS 1 and 2). From a small area (Findspot A, FIG. 3) four complete bronze terrets or harness rings and a fifth broken and incomplete terret, an enamelled roundel, a plate brooch, and an iron axe head were found. The other group of artefacts, found together (Findspot B, FIG. 3), consisted of two copperalloy horse bits, an iron and copper-alloy linch pin, a pair of iron manacles, and other fragments of metal, mainly iron, some possibly from a griddle. The finds form part of a rich collection of late Iron Age/ early Roman material found by Mr McLean at Quidney Farm between 1990 and 1993. Recorded under the same site number (County Site 29429) are a miniature terret found approximately 100 m to the west of Findspot A and an Icenian silver coin, boar/horse C type (0.69 g) 1 which was found approximately 150 m to the northwest of the terrets. Also from the site are five Romano-British brooches 2 which date to between A.D. 40 and 60/65. From the southwest end of the same field (recorded as County Site 28294) a total of eight brooches of Romano-British date 3 and an Icenian early Freckenham type gold stater (5.35 g) 4 have been found (FIG. 2a). Other finds of Iron Age or early Romano-British date from the immediate area of Quidney Farm include a silver finger-ring, 5 brooches, 6 another Icenian silver coin, boar/horse C type (0.70 g) 7 and an iron axe (FIG. 2a). 8 Further large amounts of metalwork and coinage dating to the period have been recovered from 1

Resistance is Useless! Culture, Status, and Power in the <i>Civitas Icenorum</i>

“…4 Talbot (2015: 241) argues convincingly from numismatic evidence for the latter of the two years, although the unrest may have continued for a period of several months or longer. 5 For example, a hybrid lipped terret with protected loop and punched decoration from Saham Toney, Norfolk (Bates et al 2000: 226-227 Figure 7). 6 Mackreth (2011 Access database) recorded 341 Rearhooks: 276 from Norfolk, 23 from Suffolk, and 42 from Cambridgeshire.…”