In 2014, during the excavations that preceded the expansion of the Williams and Griffin Fenwick department store on High Street in Colchester, a Roman treasure dated to the 60’s of the first century CE was discovered. Because of the place of discovery, the find was called as the “Fenwick Treasure”.
The deposit was found just below the ash layer, resulting from the burning of the Roman Colonia Claudia Victricensis by the rebel army of queen Boudica. It was hidden in a box buried probably under the floor of the house. The Fenwick Treasure included gold and silver jewelry: two pairs of gold earrings, five rings, two gold and two silver bracelets and a silver band, as well as 26 coins.
We do not know the owner of the jewelry, but she certainly did not survive the capture of the city by the rebels. It is assumed that she could have been killed in the “holy grove”, sharing the fate of other rich Roman women captured by the Iceni army.
Dr. Philip Crummy, director of the Colchester Archaeological Trust, described the discovery as “of national significance” because it is the largest collection of Roman jewelry discovered in Britain. The treasure is displayed in the museum at Colchester Castle, built on the foundations of the former Claudius’ Temple.
