Builders were stunned when they stumbled across one of the largest hoards of Roman coins ever found in Britain, worth more than £100,000. A total of 1,368 Iron Age and Roman coins dating back to the reign of Emperor Nero were dug up on a building site near Worcester.
Experts say the “miraculous” find represents one of the most important discoveries for a century. Most of the coins are silver denarii, minted in Rome and dating from the time of the Roman Republic in 157 BC up to Nero’s reign between AD 54-68.
The Worcestershire Conquest Hoard is one of the largest coin hoards of the Roman Conquest period and the biggest of the reign of Nero, ever found in Britain.
READ MORE: Scientists ‘discover’ new species of ancient human more than 200,000 years old
READ MORE: NASA discovers strange ‘spiderwebs’ on Mars they believe could be connected to aliens
(Image: Museums Worcestershire / SWNS)
It is believed the coins belonged to a rich farmer who supplied the Roman army with grain and livestock. The hoard was discovered in the Leigh and Bransford area, west of Worcester, late last year and is valued at more than £100,000.
Dr Murray Andrews, lecturer in British archaeology at University College London, said: “It’s the most miraculous thing I’ve seen over the last 100 years. It’s an important piece of archaeology. It tells us about what was happening here 2000 years ago, when the Malvern hills were maybe the boundary of the Roman Empire.”
The hoard includes a single gold coin which experts identified as an Iron Age stater. The coin was minted for the local British tribe, the Dobunni, who were in Worcestershire in AD 20-45. It is likely that the pot containing the coins was made at one of the pottery kilns based at the foot of the Malvern Hills.
(Image: Museums Worcestershire / SWNS)
In June the hoard was declared as treasure and now Worcestershire Heritage, Art & Museums is aiming to raise £6,000 so it can go on display.
Chair of Worcestershire County Council’s joint museums committee, Karen May, said: “What a fantastic find and so important for anyone wishing to understand more about the county’s heritage.
“This is real Worcestershire treasure, and it needs to be seen and enjoyed by Worcestershire residents for generations to come.”
The hoard is the third to have been found in the area in the past 25 years. In 1999, 434 silver coins and 38 shards of pottery were found near Chaddesley Corbett. In 2011 two metal detectorists from Redditch found a clay pot full of 3,784 coins on Bredon Hill.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.