ROMANO-BRITISH NORFOLK alphabetical summary permits, and we may therefore briefly describe them in this section before giving the actual summary. One such is the hoard of ' Third Brass ' coins of the third century which was found in June, 1878, at Baconsthorpe, three miles south-east of Holt. Roman remains which may possibly indicate a dwelling have been noticed near Baconsthorpe Hall, as we have already observed above (p. 297). The hoard was found in ploughing, about half a mile east of the Hall. It was contained in a largish urn, said to have been 14 inches high and 36 inches in circumference, and it consisted of about 17,000 coins varying in date from Gordian III. (a.d. 238) to Aurelian (270—275), but also including a very few earlier than Gordian. Putting together the notices of the hoard which have been published, we find that in 3,736 recorded coins the following Emperors are represented : — Nerva . Trajan Deciu< , 6 Marin iana . 2 Laslianus . . 2 Antoninus Herennius . 2 Gallienus . 306 Victorinus. 1,127 Macrinus . Etruscilla . 5 Salon inus . 87 Marius . . 28 Julia Maesa Trebonianus 13 Salonina . "3 TetricusI.&II. 2 Gordian 1 1 Volusianus 18 Quietus . . I Claudius . . 70 Philip I. & II 14 iEmilianus 5 Postumus . ',785 Quintillus. . 10 Otacilia . I Valerian . 121 Postumus (son ) ? Aurelian . . 2 The hoard is a variety of a type common in Britain and North Gaul, the instances of which seem to have been lost or buried soon after the accession of Aurelian. We may perhaps connect them with the troublous condition of the times, and in particular the struggle between Aurelian and his rival Tetricus, who held Britain and nortihern Gaul till Aurelian overthrew him in 274. In its composition the Baconsthorpe hoard seems to resemble other hoards of the same type, but as only a quarter of its coins have been examined, it is difficult to judge of this in detail. We may however wonder at the presence of a coin of Nerva and the absence of the issues of Tetricus. The size of the hoard has caused some astonishment, and it has been supposed to represent military or other public treasure. But large hoards are not so uncommon that we need necessarily adopt this explanation, and in some cases of very large hoards of which we have details, we may be certain that we are dealing with private accumulations. It should be re- membered that the value of ' Third Brass ' coins at the end of the third century was very small, and one gold piece was probably equivalent to many hundreds or even thousands of them.* Another interesting hoard, not of coins but of bronze objects and ornaments, was found in 1844 in a sandhill, on ground which used to be part of Stow Heath, at Felmingham, between Aylsham and North Walsham. Labourers, we are told, were carting sand away from the hill when the soil caved in and exposed to view two urns, one inverted over the ^Anhceological Journal, xxxviii. 433 ; liorfolk Archaohgy, ix. 25 ; Numismatic Chronicle, xx. (1880) 75 ; Norwich Museum has 500 of the coins, and about 8,000-9,000 are said to have come into the hands of Mr. J. T. Mott, the landowner. For similar hoards see Mommsen's Histoire de la Monnaie romaine (ed. Blacas), iii. 1 1 2 foil., and Blanchet's Tresors des Monnaies romaines en Gaule. The value of ' Third Brass ' about 260-300 a. d. is, for many reasons, impossible to calculate exactly. But see Momm- sen's Hermes, xxv. pp. 26 foil. 307
