Cache of old coins in Welsh field are 2,000 years old — and may have been buried by Roman soldiers
A cache of ancient coins found buried in a Welsh field is reportedly more than two millennia old — and may have been hidden by Roman soldiers from the nearby fort of Canovium.
Two men — David Moss and Tom Taylor — found the coins with a metal detector in December 2018 while meandering through the fields of Caerhun Community in the northern Wales town of Conwy, according to USA Today.
Years later, the two hoards of Roman silver and copper-alloy coins — which were likely buried between 270 and 220 AD — have officially been declared treasure after intense micro-excavation and identification by the Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.
“People do not realize the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes at the national museum, from excavating the coins, to looking after them and identifying them, so they can be reported on as treasure,” Moss said in a statement from the museum.
“It’s a huge process to be able to see the work unfold,” he added. “To be involved at first hand as finders is an incredible experience.”
The 2,733 coins, some of which were minted just 32 years after the birth of Christ, were declared treasure earlier this month by Kate Robertson, the assistant coroner for North Wales.
Moss and Taylor had just begun using metal detectors on that wet December day, Moss said. They were blown away by their discovery.
“It was raining heavily, so I took a look at Tom and made my way across the field towards him to tell him to call it a day on the detecting,” Moss said.
“When all of a sudden, I accidentally clipped a deep object making a signal,” Moss said. “It was a huge surprise when I dug down and eventually revealed the top of the vessel that held the coins.”
They pulled out the two collections, wrapped them in bandages and brought them to Dr. Susie White, the Finds Officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme in Wales.
Researchers performed CT scans, took photographs and did 3D modeling to get a better idea of the coins and their origins, USA Today reported.
They concluded that the larger cache was buried around 270 AD and the smaller one sometime around 220 AD.
The museum said it was very likely the money was hidden where it was as an offering to a deity — there’s a temple nearby that dates back to the third century.
The coins might have first belonged to Roman soldiers stationed at Canovium, a fort in what was then the Roman province of Britannia.
The Llandudno Museum will keep the treasures, which will now join other collections on display from the military post.
“The opportunity to purchase these important coin hoards associated with Kanovium Roman Fort will allow future generations to see and experience a significant collection of ancient silver coins dating from 32BC and representing 50 rulers,” Dawn Lancaster, the museum director, said in the statement.