More than £1,800 was raised from donations by those catching a glimpse of the historic haul.
It was in 2011 that metal detectorists put the University of Exeter and the British Museum on the trail of examining and excavating the site thanks to a Devon County Council-funded geophysical survey.
Finds have included a Middle Iron Age roundhouse, a Romano-British settlement, part of a Roman road and an early medieval cemetery.
As part of the project a series of public engagement events have been hosted each year, involving working with local schools, managing the visitor centre and exhibitions and the annual Open Day.
Local volunteers have participated in the excavation each season. The Ipplepen Archaeological Project’s 2016 fieldwork season began last month - and the team have already uncovered archaeological features and significant amounts of imported Roman pottery, along with locally made vessels.
Many of the finds were shown to the visitors at the Open Day.
Bill Horner, the County’s Archaeologist, said: ‘The excavation is a great example of how academic and professional archaeologists can work closely with local communities and detectorists to find out more about our rich heritage.
‘Archaeological work over the past few decades, throughout Devon, has shown just how widespread the impact of the Roman conquest was.’
‘But Ipplepen was clearly a very significant place and this year’s finds are really exciting.’
See the project’s blog at: http://ipplepen.exeter.ac.uk/site/