Sometimes it might seem like every potential archaeological site has been excavated within an inch of its life and there is nothing more to discover buried in the ground but try to build anything in Rome (or apparently build a nuclear plant on the Suffolk coast) and you will come out with a lot more than you bargained for. This is what happened to young archaeologist Andrew Pegg, who, in his first year on the job, managed to find one of the biggest treasures of the 21st century.
Andrew, who at 49 years old is a budding archaeologist after retraining through a Cotswold Archaeology traineeship, joined the major excavation at Sizewell C, future home to the new nuclear plant that is being built in Suffolk. He was happily toiling away when he found a strange object wrapped in cloth and sealed in a lead container. Inside, he found 321 silver coins that were perfectly preserved and had been for almost one thousand years.
The Suffolk archaeological dig, a hidden treasure site
While it is not unusual for some coins or scattered remains to be found almost everywhere if you dig deep enough, to find such an enormous loot is almost unheard of, and experts believe that the reason is that his treasure was hidden was likely a local man fearing an invasion or a war and trying to protect his assets. Whether he was killed or he could not find the burial site after we will never know, but this was a deliberate attempt to conceal riches underground, not an errant lost coin.
Since the value of the coins is so high (as it was back then, when it would have easily bought a herd of cows) researchers believe that it had to belong to someone with local influence, as a richer person like a nobleman would have participated in the conflict or fled, not buried treasure and someone of a low social class would not have enough treasure to bury.
The coins by themselves are almost invaluable, a small collection dating back to 1036–1044, from the reigns of Harold I, Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor. This was a very unstable political time for the region, which gives credence to the theory that someone intentionally buried them to ensure that they would not be looted by invading forces.
The coins found in the dig were quite common for the time, but they had specific markings that helped researchers determine that they belonged to different mints in the Southwest, meaning that they had had even at the time a wide and diverse circulation, pointing to a thriving local economy that saw a fair amount of travelers, but that is not all that makes them special, especially for the locals.
The way these coins were wrapped was similar to the way a local beloved pastry is presented, and so the archaeologists dubbed the finding “The Pastry” which made it even more special. Andrew, a local, was especially happy to have made this discovery since it represents a perfect time capsule for the time of the burial and a connection to the present through the wrapping. His enthusiasm is contagious and as he explained after the find, it is never too late to chase a new path. “You just need passion,” he said.
While these coins are particularly impressive, they are not the only thing that has been found in this particular dig site. Archaeologists have also found plenty of objects from the Second World War that have been quite interesting for historians. We do not know if there will more treasure waiting to be found, but for now we can say that we have discovered a small piece of English history.