Reffley Wood Yields Secret Society’s Artifacts

KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND—Volunteers and members of the West Norfolk and King’s Lynn Archaeology Society have conducted an excavation at the site of the eighteenth-century Reffley Temple, home of the Reffley Brethren, a secret Royalist society that was formed after the execution of King Charles I in 1649. Fine porcelain and long clay pipes that were smoked by the members as part of a ritual were uncovered. Members also made a secret, alcoholic punch to toast Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, and they feasted on large joints of beef, saddle of mutton, and lobster salad. It is thought that the secret society still meets today.