Huge hoard of Roman coins is uncovered in Worcestershire – and experts predict it could be worth more than £100,000

Huge hoard of Roman coins is uncovered in Worcestershire – and experts predict it could be worth more than £100,000

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.

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.

Builders were stunned when they stumbled across one of the largest hoards of Roman coins ever found in Britain – worth more than £100,000

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 hoard includes a single gold coin which experts identified as an Iron Age stater

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

‘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.

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.

How England spent almost half a millennium under Roman rule

55BC – Julius Caesar crossed the channel with around 10,000 soldiers. They landed at a Pegwell Bay on the Isle of Thanet and were met by a force of Britons. Caesar was forced to withdraw.

54BC – Caesar crossed the channel again in his second attempt to conquer Britain. He came with with 27,000 infantry and cavalry and landed at Deal but were unopposed. They marched inland and after hard battles they defeated the Britons and key tribal leaders surrendered.

However, later that year, Caesar was forced to return to Gaul to deal with problems there and the Romans left.

54BC – 43BC – Although there were no Romans present in Britain during these years, their influence increased due to trade links.

43AD – A Roman force of 40,000 led by Aulus Plautius landed in Kent and took the south east. The emperor Claudius appointed Plautius as Governor of Britain and returned to Rome.

47AD – Londinium (London) was founded and Britain was declared part of the Roman empire. Networks of roads were built across the country.

50AD – Romans arrived in the southwest and made their mark in the form of a wooden fort on a hill near the river Exe.  A town was created at the site of the fort decades later and names Isca. 

When Romans let and Saxons ruled, all ex-Roman towns were called a ‘ceaster’. this was called ‘Exe ceaster’ and a merger of this eventually gave rise to Exeter.   

75 – 77AD – Romans defeated the last resistant tribes, making all Britain Roman. Many Britons started adopting Roman customs and law.

122AD – Emperor Hadrian ordered that a wall be built between England and Scotland to keep Scottish tribes out.

312AD – Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal throughout the Roman empire.

228AD – The Romans were being attacked by barbarian tribes and soldiers stationed in the country started to be recalled to Rome.

410AD – All Romans were recalled to Rome and Emperor Honorious told Britons they no longer had a connection to Rome.

Source: History on the net

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