NHER 5853 (Monument record) - The 'Thetford Treasure' and Roman temple, Fison Way

Iron Age/Roman ?temple

Early 1960s. Found on ploughed surface and by digging.
A mass of Roman tile, building material and pottery was found.
A. Gregory (NAU), 4 August 1980.

1966. Found while digging trench for water main.
Roman pottery sherds.

1978. Found under tree in south-east field boundary.
Roman coins and terracotta ushabti.

1979. Seen after topsoil stripping.
Area of Roman pits, ditches and foundations.
Metal detector finds of coin hoards, coins and metalwork including an Early Saxon brooch.

1979. 'Thetford Treasure' Roman hoard found by metal detecting.
This comprised 81 objects:
1 gold belt buckle
22 gold finger rings
4 gold bracelets, 2 a matching pair
2 gold club-of-Hercules pendants (or ear-rings)
2 gold-mounted pendants, one containing a cameo, the other an engraved gem
1 unmounted gem
5 gold necklaces and 2 pairs of gold clasps
1 gold amulet designed as a pendant
4 beads, 3 of glass, 1 of emerald
3 silver strainers
33 silver spoons (S11).
1 shale jewellery box and lid.
The jewellery is almost entirely brand new, and at least two objects remain unfinished. These facts, combined with the numerous stylistic traits that unite the group as a whole, indicate that this collection of artefacts is therefore a jeweller's or merchant's stock-in-trade. The spoons also appear to comprise a homogenous group from a simple workshop, and all except two are inscribed, twelve of them referring directly to the God Faunus. These spoons, along with the strainers, may have been used to celebrate a ritual associated with the cult of Faunus.
On typological grounds these objects can all be dated to the second half of the 4th century AD, and (S1) argues that they were manufactured and buried in the 380s or early 390s.
Information from (S1).
The hoard was declared Treasure Trove and acquired by the British Museum (1981,0201).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 19 August 2008.

16 June 1980. SAU and NAU air photography.
Revealed cropmarks of two concentric rectangular enclosures orientated approximately east-west. The larger outer enclosure measures 200m east-west and 180m north-south with an entrance located centrally in the east end. The smaller enclosure measures 150m by 105m and has two possible entrances, one located central to the north side and another central to the eastern end.
See (S2).
D. Edwards (NAU), 24 June 1980.

1980-1982. Excavation.
This work revealed only limited evidence for pre-Iron Age activity. The earliest find was a Middle Palaeolithic handaxe (Mousterian of Acheulian Tradition). See drawing (S17). This object is noted on (S12) and in (S13) and (S14).

Mesolithic activity was represented by two microliths. It is possible that at least some of the 150+ blades recovered were also associated with Mesolithic activity, although they are as likely to be of Early Neolithic date. The low frequency of blades in the assemblage suggests that early activity was limited. The majority of the worked flints recovered appear to be of later Neolithic or Bronze Age date.

The earliest structural remains recorded during the excavation date from the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age and comprise a single small pit containing pottery and flint-working debris located in the south-eastern corner of the site. No contemporary features were found, but in the same area were two urned cremations of Middle to Late Bronze Age date and two unurned cremations which are likely to be contemporary. Another urned cremation was found in the north-western part of the site, and was of indeterminate Bronze Age date.

The principal use of this site dates from the Iron Age and early Roman period. This can be sub-divided into three main phases of activity as follows:
Phase I (dates from perhaps as early as the 4th century BC to sometime in the 1st century AD):
The function of the site during this period is unclear. There is no evidence for domestic activity, and the site is not dominated by a single structure during this phase. Features from this phase of activity include two pit groups, at least one ring ditch, a possible building and several enclosures, one of which may have had a funerary purpose. A large rectangular pit was found to contain metallurgical debris including fragments of clay moulds and crucibles, indicating the manufacture of decorated copper alloy objects here during this period.
Phase II (probably dates from around AD 40-50):
The major development during this phase was the construction of a large, roughly square enclosure which appears to have been constructed primarily to contain a single circular building. To the north-west are a series of enclosures which are contemporary with and just outside the main square enclosure. The ditch of one of these contained metalworking debris which indicated that the manufacture of decorated copper alloy objects and silver coins was going on side by side. The discovery of pellet moulds from this ditch means that this can be identified as the site of an Iron Age-style mint, indicating that the production of Icenian silver coinage continued into the client kingdoms. All of the other Phase II enclosures appear to have a very different function. They (and some of the ring ditches) almost all contain graves, although no human remains were preserved. About sixty graves were recorded, having varied orientation but often in groups of similar alignment and in enclosures of varying sizes. To the south of the main enclosure is another large rectilinear enclosure defined by ditches and having an entrance to the east. Similarly to the main enclosure, this southern enclosure is also devoid of burials, and seems to have contained only a single contemporary feature, a large hollow containing soot and pot boilers. This area has been interpreted by the author as a steam-bath, although this interpretation is not certain. It is likely that this second large enclosure was closely related in function to the main enclosure and that the activities within it served the main enclosure in some way.
Phase III (dates from around AD 50 to the middle of the AD 60s):
This phase saw a massive expansion of the main enclosure established during Phase II, and the sweeping away of many of the extra-mural features. The new enclosure contained a great deal of open space which would have been a stark contrast to the massed fences, up to nine deep, filling the space between the new inner and outer ditches. The new enclosure contained not one but five circular structures. A space of some 80m separates the area of buildings from the entrance into the enclosure, towards which all five buildings face. A corridor lined with vertical timbers led from the eastern entrance to the enclosure to a massive gateway which formed the entrance through the bank into the central court, with the buildings beyond. Suddenly, after an apparently short life, the use of this enclosure and buildings came to an end and the structures were dismantled.
There is a clear hiatus in datable finds between the early Roman associated with Phases II and III and material of the 3rd and 4th centuries associated with the latest phase of activity on this site. Late Roman features include two possible post-built buildings, gullies and pits. This phase of activity provides the context for the deposition of the Thetford Treasure.

See published monograph (S3) for full details.
The finds from this excavation have been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 1995.60).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 15 August 2008. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 25 July 2013.

1983. Metal detecting.
Roman ring and Iron Age harness.

1988. Found with metal detector on bypass line.
Roman coins and pottery, flint flake.

1989. Metal detecting.
Roman brooch.

(S4) considers this to be a Gnostic assemblage.
D. Gurney (NLA) 8 January 2004.

February 2008. Geophysical survey.
A number of smaller features known from excavation were not clearly visible on the geophysical survey and this could be due to the depth of backfill from earlier excavations. The inner ditches of Fison Way were visible as a strong anomaly with the outer ditch less visible. A number of isolated positive anomalies are interpreted as possible pit-type features. Many of the linear and curvilinear anomalies detected by the geophysical survey are shown on the plan of excavated features and could possibly relate to features such as ditches, earthworks or gullies associated with human occupation of the site but some could also be part of modern field drainage systems.
See (S6) for further details.
S. Howard (NLA), 10 March 2010.

1 September 2009.
Site Scheduled.
See (S5)
A. Cattermole (NLA), 2 September 2009.

October 2010. Norfolk NMP.
Study of the available aerial photographs (S2), (S7-S8) revealed, in a similar way to the geophysical survey, that the inner ditches of Fison Way were clearly visible, and the outer ditch less so. Many of the smaller features known from excavation were not visible, except for the phase Ib enclosure (S3) visible in the northwest corner, centred on TL 8663 8509, of Late Iron Age-Roman date.
The site was extended to the east to incorporate a further rectangular enclosure (S7-S8), centred on TL 8689 8501, which measures 66m by 55m. This enclosure had been recognised prior to excavation, but was not subject to excavation.
E. Bales (NMP), 18 Oct 2010.

January - May 2010. Geophysical survey.
The survey detected the ditched annex enclosure located to the west of the main temple complex originally identified rom aerial photographs.
See report (S10) and summary (S16).
S. Howard (HES), 28 July 2011.

A recently published article (S17) proposes a later, early to mid-5th-century date for the burial of this hoard (420s to 440s). It is argued that the available evidence from hoards and burials elsewhere suggests at least 17 of the Thetford objects were probably made during the 5th century. It also appears that the hoard had likely been accumulated over a longer period than previously thought. Many of the objects show signs of wear and various pieces also have damage and missing components – suggesting that towards the end of their life these objects were possibly functioning more as an economic commodity. The suggested 5th-century date is significant, as it would imply the survival of a pagan cult centre into the post-Roman period.
P. Watkins (HES), 8 July 2025.