Norfolk found second most amount of treasure in UK in 2022

In its annual report, the museum found that 53,490 finds were recorded in the country in 2022 - the highest ever reported in a single year.

Metal detectors and mud larkers in Norfolk contributed 4,265 artefacts to this number, second only to Lincolnshire where 5,101 were found.

A gilded silver medieval pilgrim's badge found in Topcroft, near Long Stratton (Image: British Museum)

A total of 1,378 treasure cases - artefacts of high monetary value - were also found across the UK in the same year, with Norfolk topping the list with 95 finds. 

Among the treasures were a fragment of a gold Bronze Age penannular ring from north Norfolk and a gilded silver medieval pilgrim's badge from Topcroft, near Long Stratton.

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Both finds were donated to Norwich Castle Museum.

It also included an enamel mount which was produced in Limoges, France, around the 12th century and traded locally.

An enamel mount depicting an eagle was found in Suffield, near North Walsham (Image: British Museum)

The mount was found in Suffield, near North Walsham, and was discovered "relatively well preserved".

It depicts an eagle, the symbol of St John the Evangelist, and would have probably been fixed to the back of a processional cross.

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According to the museum, most objects were found by people metal-detecting on cultivated land where they could otherwise be lost to ploughing.

Under the Treasure Act of 1996, the finder may waive their right to a reward so that artefacts can be acquired by museums for their historical importance. 

Several recent television shows have featured East Anglia as a treasure-hunting hotspot, including "Digging for Treasure" and "The Detectorists".