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Ken Hill, near the village of Snettisham in north-west Norfolk, is a special place. This promontory overlooking the Wash is a conspicuous feature in an otherwise flat and marshy coastal landscape, commanding views across the North Sea. It sits close to the Crown’s estates at Sandringham, and over the last few hundred years the land has been used for grazing, arable farming, and shooting. Some 2,000 years ago, however, the slopes of this hill saw the deposition of some of the most ornate ancient metalwork found in Britain: a series of gold hoards that lay largely undisturbed as the world moved on around them, until a chance discovery in the mid-20th century.
On a cold November day in 1948, a young tractor driver, Raymond Williamson, was working on the slopes of Ken Hill when his plough struck something hard. After climbing down to investigate, he retrieved what looked like the remains of an old brass bedstead, threw it to the side of the field, got back on his tractor, and continued with his task. The following day, though, he found more old metal, this time a ‘lot of twisted wire’. Again, no one thought much of the finds, and Williamson probably forgot all about them until a local company owner became interested, and they eventually came to the attention of Roy Rainbird Clarke, the Curator of Archaeology at Norwich Castle Museum. Clarke rushed to investigate – fighting transport delays and road closures because of a freezing fog that had descended over much of eastern Britain – and soon realised that Williamson’s discarded find was no bedstead. The ‘brass bed fittings’ were actually more than 2,000 years old, and they were made not of brass, but gold. In fact, they were neck- rings that would have been worn by people during the later Iron Age – unknown to him at the time, Raymond Williamson had stumbled on one of the most important archaeological sites in Britain.
A gift that kept on giving
Despite its significance, Williamson’s find was just one of a series made at Snettisham over the next 70 years. The first came just two years later in 1950, when another ploughman, Tom Rout, unearthed a beautiful golden torc (now known as the ‘Great Torc’) with intricately decorated terminals. Legend has it that George VI was staying at the nearby Sandringham estate at the time, and the artefact was taken by the landowner to be admired by the king.
There were only infrequent finds through the 1960s and 1970s, and it was thought there were no more treasures to be found at the site, but in August 1990 a metal-detectorist named Cecil ‘Charles’ Hodder once again struck gold. This time, it wasn’t the finely wrought torc that Hodder had perhaps been hoping for when he gained permission to detect at the site; rather, he recovered more than 500 fragmentary objects in alloys of gold, silver, and bronze, a group that we now know had originally been buried in an upturned bronze helmet (of which, more below). Hodder reported his discovery to the Norfolk Archaeological Unit and, soon after, in December that year, a second archaeologist and his team returned to investigate. Dr Ian Stead, then Deputy Keeper of the Department of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquities at the British Museum, began a large-scale excavation that lasted for three successive seasons between 1990 and 1992, uncovering several more hoards, as well as evidence about the longer history of the site.
Subsequent excavations and surveys in the 2000s and 2010s have added to this picture, and, in all, more than 1,200 metal artefacts have been found from this single field – which perhaps inevitably became known as the ‘gold field’, owing to the material from which many of the objects had been made. Now residing in the British Museum and Norwich Castle Museum, they include gold, silver, and bronze neck-rings, bracelets, rings, and ingots, as well as coins. Together, they have often been labelled the ‘Snettisham Treasure’ (see CA 126 and CA 135), though in fact the deposits consist of at least 14 separate hoards, which have been labelled alphabetically in the order of their discovery.
What can be said about the place where these objects were committed to the soil? Two thousand years ago, at the time the hoards were buried, sea levels were higher and Ken Hill was surrounded by open water on three sides. The southern edge of the hoard field sloped away, down to salt marsh and ultimately the sea. There had been occasional occupation here for thousands of years, but around 2,500 years ago it began to take on a special significance, perhaps becoming a sacred place, with evidence for feasting, and a system of ditches and enclosures that would have channelled movement across the site.
The surrounding area was a well-populated, settled landscape. Like today, there were busy farmsteads all along this part of the Norfolk coast. The chalk uplands provided good grazing for sheep and cattle, and the fen edge was rich in resources such as wildfowl, salt, and reeds for thatch and other crafts. The people who lived there were also well connected over land and across the Wash to other regions of Britain, and via the North Sea to the Continent. The torc hoards were most likely buried around 60 BC, but Ken Hill seems to have remained important into the early Roman period, when the ‘gold field’ was partially enclosed by the digging of deep V-shaped ditches, and a square stone structure that may be a Romano-Celtic temple was constructed too. Ultimately, however, this prestige faded. The site was abandoned, and the ditches partially filled in, some time in the mid-4th century AD.
Investigating Snettisham
Over the years, the remarkable discoveries from Ken Hill have made headline news and the objects themselves have long been on public display. Yet, although Clarke and Stead both promptly published their excavations, there has never been a comprehensive publication of the site. Over a decade ago, staff at the British Museum set out to address this, undertaking a systematic scientific investigation of the objects, as well as re-examining all the evidence compiled over the years through excavation and archaeological survey. The result is a comprehensive book which aims to make sense of this extraordinary site (see ‘Further reading’ below), and what follows is an account of some of the most spectacular and interesting findings that have emerged.
Let’s start with the most impressive objects from Snettisham, the finds that make the site so exceptional: the torcs. These are metal neck-rings, sometimes with decorated terminals at the front. Similar objects were worn across much of Europe, but the number found at Snettisham is unprecedented. There are more than 60 complete or near-complete torcs from the site, with hundreds more represented by fragments. This compares to 85 or so examples known from the whole of the rest of Britain. Taking all 14 hoards together, it is the largest assemblage of ancient gold jewellery from anywhere in Europe.
Most of the Snettisham torcs were probably made in Britain, but the gold is likely to have been imported from the Continent. Colour was evidently important in the selection of alloys and surface treatments, with precious metal torcs being made in a wide range of alloys combining gold, silver, and copper, and the shade of objects varying from a deep yellow gold to very pale, whitish silver. Some bronze torcs from the site were even gilded with mercury to give them a golden surface appearance: the earliest-known example of this technology in Britain.
Scientific analysis carried out by British Museum scientists including Caroline Cartwright, Nigel Meeks, Aude Mongiatti, and Dan O’Flynn has revealed the extraordinary skill of the metalworkers and the huge variety of materials and manufacturing techniques used in the production of these objects, using gold sheet, twisted wires, and cast components. In their investigation, the scientists worked closely with a modern-day metalworker, John Fenn, who attempted to replicate how these wires would have been made. It was a time-consuming and highly skilled process, with each wire hammered out from an ingot by hand. Depending on the desired form, wires were then twisted or coiled together to form the neck-ring. John found that in order to twist the wires together evenly they had to be of a very similar diameter, something that is extremely difficult to achieve by hand.
When the scientists examined broken wires in cross-section using an electron microscope, they noticed that some were richer in gold and silver at the surface and more copper-rich at the core. This is known as surface enrichment. By following John Fenn at work, the scientists showed how ancient wire-manufacturing techniques changed the colour of the original alloy, making wires appear more silvery or golden. This was achieved through repeated phases of hammering and heating. After hammering the metal for some time, John found it became brittle and difficult to work, but this was remedied by periodically heating the wire, and then dipping it in a strong vinegar mix to remove any tarnish. The scientists were able to demonstrate that, through this process, copper was also removed, so privileging gold and silver and ‘enriching’ the surface.
Torc manufacture used a wide variety of materials in addition to metal. One unexpected discovery, made by examining broken torcs, was the use of wooden stems as a central core in coiled wire neck-rings. By using the thin, flexible wood in this way, metalworkers prevented the wires from collapsing in on themselves when twisted together. After taking tiny samples of charred wood from neck-ring cores, scientists were even able to identify the varied species used: alder, hazel, dogwood, field maple, willow, and elder.
Important artefacts
Many of the torcs were decorated, some with the swirling, enigmatic designs now known as Celtic art. In fact, the finds from Snettisham represent one of the densest known concentrations of this art from the whole of Iron Age Europe. The motifs are highly varied and it is difficult, if not impossible, now to understand exactly what the designs may have meant. What we can do is think about why the torcs were decorated as they were. Much of the ornamentation appears on the terminals, which would have been the most conspicuous feature of the torc when worn. Using a combination of raised elements and small, intricate details, this decoration worked in different ways depending on how close the viewer was able to come. From a distance, raised features caught the sun or the flickering firelight. Close-up, it was possible to follow the wider design’s sinuous flow. Wear on some of the terminals is perhaps the result of ancient fingers tracing or polishing these intricate lines.
One underlying question when studying these objects is: who wore them? Were they high-status pieces accessible only to a small number of powerful individuals, perhaps local leaders? Or were they communal possessions associated with roles, rites, or offices, which could be held by different people at different times? These questions may remain impossible to answer, but the range of neck-ring sizes present at Snettisham suggests that they were worn by a wide variety of people, including young people and adult men and women. Scientific investigation also revealed that many of the torcs were long-lived artefacts, and therefore – perhaps not surprisingly – probably highly cherished. Many, like the so-called ‘Grotesque Torc’, were heavily worn and repaired, suggesting use over a very long period, most likely by more than one individual, and were possibly passed down the generations as heirlooms.
The torcs are not the only special objects from Snettisham. When Charles Hodder discovered Hoard F in 1990, his attention was (understandably) focused on the golden artefacts and the intriguing collections of torc fragments looped on to rings. But he recovered hundreds of fragments of copper alloy as well, many from the bottom of the hoard pit. It was only years later in a conservation laboratory at the British Museum that the true significance of these seemingly trivial objects was realised. Like piecing together an ancient jigsaw puzzle, conservator Fleur Shearman meticulously rejoined these tiny fragments, making the extraordinary discovery that they formed the remains of an incredibly rare ancient helmet, complete with nose guard. This headgear seemingly acted as a vessel for the hoard. Whether it was just a convenient container, or its inclusion held more significance, is difficult to establish, but it remains a unique object: no helmet quite like it is known from anywhere in the Iron Age world.
Cracking the code
Why were these hoards buried in the first place? It is hard to fathom, from our perspective today, why the owners, wearers, and makers of, in many instances, beautiful and perfectly useable torcs, rings, and bracelets would have consigned them to the ground in such large numbers. Were these gifts to the gods, or a communal treasury? Why were they never recovered? It does appear that, in Iron Age Norfolk, burying metalwork in significant places in the landscape was, if not an everyday activity, certainly a well-established practice. Ken Hill, as a highly visible and well-used coastal site, may have been the ideal location for people to gather and deposit hoards. We don’t know exactly how many people would have been present when the Snettisham artefacts were buried but, thanks to Stead’s careful excavations, it is possible to reconstruct the order in which objects were placed in the ground, and observe similarities and differences between deposits.
Two hoards in particular, G and H, are very similar in terms of their contents and the order in which these items were placed. For example, both hoards have a lower and upper deposit. In each of the lower deposits, the simplest objects were placed in the ground first, with the largest and most unusual torcs from each hoard deposited last. It is possible to imagine a small group of people taking turns to offer their own torcs to the hoard, following a predetermined order with the most senior individual going last. It also seems likely that at least some people were present on both occasions. Other hoards have a slightly different character. The bottom of Hoard L was placed in a much larger pit, and contains some of the most impressive torcs found at Snettisham. Perhaps the objects from Hoard L were intentionally laid out in the ground for people to walk past and view. If so, the effect must have been dazzling. The image of the torcs at the moment of their rediscovery is one of the most compelling archaeological pictures from Britain, and this sight must surely have meant even more to the people who had seen these objects worn, and knew their stories.
As we mentioned above, Ken Hill appears to have been important to people in the region from sometime around 2500 BC to the end of the Roman period. This may have made it a suitable location for gathering to bury hoards, but it doesn’t explain the sheer quantity of material found at the site. Dating evidence from coins and the close relationship between the different deposits seems to suggest that, while many of the torcs may have been in circulation for generations, most went into the ground over a relatively short period around 60 BC. Why were so many torcs taken out of circulation at this time? A clue may lie in the small number of gold coins that have been recovered from the Snettisham hoards.
The period around 60 BC coincides with the beginnings of local coin production in East Anglia. These coins were probably made by melting down imported gold coins from the Continent, mixed with some metal recycled from torcs. Gold- and silver-alloy torcs seem to disappear from the archaeological record as coins become more common. This shift from a ‘world of torcs’ to a ‘world of coins’ is fundamental to understanding the deposits at Snettisham. Torcs were powerful objects, worn on the body, perhaps associated with individual people, families, or communities. Their value lay in their singularity: almost every torc from the site is unique, and many are highly recognisable, even from a distance. They may well have had their own names and stories. Coins are a different matter altogether. Coinage was a new way of demonstrating wealth, status, and connections. Coins are portable, and easily distributed among many people. Their value lies in their multiplicity, standardisation, and reproducibility. In this new ‘world of coins’, torcs, or at least what they represented, may have seemed outdated.
The expansion of local coin production coincides with a tidemark in the hoard evidence, with many torcs seemingly buried at this time. But why were they not recycled instead? The long histories of many of the objects from Snettisham suggests an answer: were these artefacts simply too important to be destroyed? Taking them out of circulation by placing them in hoards created space for a new kind of object – coinage – and, with it, new forms of authority and new kinds of interaction between people, objects, and materials.
A new beginning
Today, Snettisham remains a special place that draws people together to explore the things that matter. Since 2018, the owners of the site have been engaged in a rewilding project, returning parts of the land to nature, exploring traditional conservation methods, and developing sustainable agricultural practices. If you visit, you might catch a glimpse of animals not seen wild there for hundreds of years, including beavers, ponies, and pigs. A site that was a theatre of power in the Iron Age, where communities reconfigured the way they related to one another and their ancient symbols of value, is now helping us to find ways to tackle the impacts of climate change. The story of Snettisham continues and, surely, this unassuming hillside on the Norfolk coast still has many secrets left to tell.
Further reading:
Julia Farley and Jody Joy (eds) (2024) The Snettisham Hoards (British Museum Research Publication 225; British Museum Press, ISBN 978 0861592258, £40).
Dr Julia Farley is a curator at the British Museum, responsible for the European Iron Age collections from 2014 to 2021, and now Lead Curator on the Reimagining the British Museum project.
Dr Jody Joy is a Senior Curator at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, where he is responsible for the European Archaeology collections.
All images: © The Trustees of the British Museum, unless otherwise stated
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