NHER 61602 (Monument record) - Early/Middle Saxon Coptic bowl

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Summary

Metal-detecting in 2014 discovered an Early/Middle Saxon Coptic bowl with evidence of textiles preserved within it. Subsequent small-scale excavation demonstrated that the bowl had been buried within a flat-bottomed sub-rectagular pit and possibly along with a wooden vessel containing textile.

Protected Status/Designation

None recorded

Location

Map sheet	TG20SW
Civil Parish	CAISTOR ST EDMUND, SOUTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full Description

27-28 September 2014. Metal-detecting. [1].
Early/Middle Saxon Coptic bowl (S1). The bowl had traces of cloth and vegetal material preserved on the inside. This find was previously recorded under NHER 9743.
Information from PAS import.
A. Beckham (HES), 5 May 2015. Amended by A. Beckham (HES), 22 August 2016.

26 November 2014. Excavation.
Small-scale excavation on the findspot of an Early/Middle Saxon Coptic bowl recovered in September 2014 demonstrated that the bowl was buried within a flat-bottomed sub-rectangular pit. The pit contained an annular dark deposit, with an off-white deposit within it. The Coptic bowl lay above these deposits which are thought to be a wooden vessel, possibly containing textile, on which it sat. No recordable finds were recovered.
See unpublished document (S2), digital photographs (S3), digital videos (S4) and excavation plan (S5).
A. Beckham (HES), 22 August 2016.

Associated Sources (7)

--- SNF98213 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2016. Great discoveries like this could soon slip through our fingers. 9 January.
--- SNF50955 Photograph: I & RS. Digital finds image.
<S1> SNF93616 Illustration: Gibbons, J. 2015. Drawing of an Early/Middle Saxon copper alloy Coptic bowl. Film. 1:1.
<S2> SNF94236 Unpublished Report: Rogerson, A.. 2014. Report on the excavation of a feature containing an Early Medieval Copic bowl discovered in September 2014. Excavation Report.
<S3> SNF97604 Photograph: Alger, D. 2014. Photographs taken during the excavation of an Early Medieval Coptic bowl, Caistor St Edmund, November 2014. Digital. jpeg.
<S4> SNF97605 Moving Image: Alger, D. 2014. Videos taken during the excavation of an Early Medieval Coptic bowl, Caistor St Edmund, November 2014. Digital.
<S5> SNF103349 Drawing: Ashley, S. 2014. Plan drawn during the excavation of an Early Medieval Coptic bowl, Caistor St Edmund, November 2014. Excavation plan. Film. 1:10.

Site and Feature Types and Periods (1)

FINDSPOT (Early Saxon to Middle Saxon - 410 AD to 850 AD)

Object Types (1)

VESSEL (Early Saxon to Middle Saxon - 410 AD to 700 AD)

Related NHER Records (0)

Record last edited

Feb 19 2026 4:22PM