appears on coins across Europe minted during this period. The ancient city was a thriving centre for trade and commerce in East Anglia in 1004 when it was raided and burnt by Sweyn Forkbeard, the Viking king of Denmark.

At the time of the Norman Conquest, in 1067, the city was one of the largest in England. The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, states that the city had approximately