One of the most remarkable and least known discoveries of Anglo-Saxon treasure in Sussex began with a group of farm workers clearing a hedgerow at Chankton Farm in 1866.
During their work, the men discovered an old clay pot and, upon breaking it, found 3,000 silver coins.
Originally accepted as payment at a local pub, the coins were later given to the British Museum after being declared treasure.
The hoard consisted of Anglo-Saxon silver pennies from the reigns of Edward the Confessor and Harold II, none of which had been minted since the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
This suggests that the coins were buried either shortly before or immediately after the Norman invasion.
«"How they got there, we don't know. We don't know if they were buried during the war… there's just no evidence of that," said Andrew Woodfield of the Steyning Museum.
According to the Domesday Book records, in 1066 the lord of the manor of Chancton was Gyrth, brother of King Harold, and its tenant-in-chief was Esher of Chancton.
Gyrth died at Hastings, and it is possible that Esher hid the coins to protect them from the advancing Norman army and never returned to retrieve them.
Although most of the coins are kept in the British Museum, some of the treasure was originally sold by the town's residents and is now scattered among private collections around the world.
At that time, there was no regulation requiring reporting of hoarding as there is today.
«"I know of one [private collection] in America - we know that museums in Stockholm and Berlin have Steyning coins in their collections," Woodfield said.
At a rate of 240 pennies to the pound, the treasure was worth £12 10 shillings - more than three times the annual value of the entire estate, which, according to the Domesday Book, was £4.
The discovery at Chankton Farm helped confirm that Steyning was a functioning and important mint, issuing coins during the reigns of Edward the Confessor and Harold II.
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