A HISTORY OF NORFOLK and underwent so many changes and modifications in the process that the original Macedonian coin is scarcely recognizable in the feeble imitations on the coins in circulation among the Britons in pre-Roman times. The word ECEN which is found inscribed upon some of the coins found in the eastern counties has been identified by Sir John Evans' with the Iceni, the tribe which inhabited what are now Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of adjacent counties. The early coins of this district indeed possess certain well-marked peculiarities which distinguish them as the currency of an independent tribe. Particulars of the various coins found at the following localities in Norfolk will be found in the topographical list at the end of this article : Bressingham, Brettingham, Brunstead, Cawston, Norwich, and Thetford. Ancient Roads The difficulty of assigning the ancient earthworks of Norfolk to a precise period has already been pointed out. An equally difficult task lies before one who attempts to define the origin and ages of the ancient roads of which considerable traces remain in the county. The Padders' Way, or the Peddars' Road, as it is denominated on the Ordnance Survey maps, is however unquestionably one of the oldest roads in Norfolk. It extends from Holme near Hunstanton in a south south-eastern direction through a considerable part of the county, passing quite near Ringstead, and further on a little to the west of Fring. It next passes on the east side of Anmer. From thence it extends to the ancient earthworks of Castle Acre, a point at which several roads from different directions meet. Southward from this place its course is not so clearly marked, but Mr. E. M. Beloe,' F.S.A., has been able to identify it at several points further south. The Great Fen Road is another of the ancient roads which in part of its course runs through Norfolk, but it is doubtful if it existed before the Roman period. Doubtless the Romans on their arrival in Norfolk made use of the ancient roads which they found in existence. With the appearance of the Romans however the prehistoric period ends. Topographical List of Prehistoric Antiquities in Norfolk In the following list an attempt is made to record the various sites in Norfolk which have furnished prehistoric antiquities. The following abbreviations in the references to authorities have been adopted : — E.A. = The East Anglian. Evans B. = The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons and Ornaments of Great Britain, by John Evans, 1881.
- Tie Coins of the Ancient Britons, 1864, pp. 357, 358.
- 'The Padders' Way and its attendant Roads,' Cambridge Antiquarian Society, Communications, ix.
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