Archaeology & History

Huge hoard of 4,000 Roman coins unearthed

By T.K. Randall
November 20, 2015

Image: Roman Legionnaire
Credit: Rennett Stowe / CC BY 2.0 (adapted) Thought to date back 1,700 years, the huge pile of coins was found after a Swiss farmer noticed something shining inside a molehill in his cherry orchard.

When archaeologists excavated the site they were surprised to discover that the coins were in remarkably good condition for their age and looked as though they had been newly minted just before being taken out of circulation.

Some of the coins dated as far back as the rule of Emperor Aurelian in AD 274 while others were from the time of Emperor Maximian who ruled Rome from AD 286 to AD 305.By the time the excavation was complete a total of 4,166 coins had been found at the site.

"As an archaeologist one rarely experiences something like this more than once in your career," said Swiss archaeologist Georg Matter who stated that the discovery had "exceeded all expectations."

It is believed that the coins had managed to remain undiscovered for so long because the field in which they were found had always been used as farmland and was never built upon.

The original owners must have buried them for a rainy day but never returned to retrieve them.

Source: BBC News

Tags: Roman, Coins