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Huge Roman Coin Hoard found in England

A hoard of 22,000 Roman coins has been unearthed near the English town of Seaton in East Devon. The ‘Seaton Hoard’ of copper-alloy Roman coins is one of the largest and best preserved fourth-century collections to have ever been found in Britain.

Seaton Hoard - British Musuem

The hoard was found near the previously excavated site of a Roman villa at Honeyditches in East Devon in November 2013. Realising the significance of the discovery, and that much of it was in situ, the finder (Laurence Egerton, 51) immediately contacted the landowner (Clinton Devon Estates), as well as Danielle Wootton (Devon Finds Liaison Officer, based at the University of Exeter) and Bill Horner (County Archaeologist). This prompt and responsible action ensured the coins were properly excavated and allowed for the later recording of the hoard and its context at the British Museum.

The Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter is launching a bid to purchase a massive hoard. The amount needed to purchase the hoard will be determined by the British Museum’s Treasure Valuation Committee when it meets later in the year.

It appears that the coins were buried together as a single group in a small isolated pit, the lozenge-shaped form of the coin deposit suggests the coins were buried in a flexible container, perhaps a fabric or soft leather bag, though this has not survived. The combined weight of the coins is 68kg and they have been lightly cleaned at the British Museum prior to valuation under the Treasure Act 1996. The coins range from the late AD 260s to the AD 340s, a period of much turmoil in Roman Britain. 99% of the hoard is nummi, common coins struck between AD 330 and AD 341. The group terminates in AD 347-8 during the joint reign of Constantius II and his younger brother Constans, sons of Constantine I. Constans was the last legitimate emperor to visit Britain.

County Archaeologist Bill Horner added, “Our archaeologists and the team at the British Museum have reported that the majority of the coins are so well preserved that they were able to date them very accurately. This is very unusual for Devon because the county, as a whole, has slightly acidic soil which leads to metals corroding. The soil in this area is chalky which is why they’ve survived so well.”

The scale of the Seaton Hoard is remarkable. This is one of the largest hoards ever found within the whole Roman Empire. Despite the number of coins found, the financial value would not have been great, amounting to approximately four gold coins (solidi): this sum of money would possibly have provided a soldier’s food or a worker’s salary for two years.



Finder Laurence Egerton described how he found the hoard: “Initially I found two small coins the size of a thumbnail sitting on top of the ground and then, as I began working in a grid formation in the surrounding area I had a 50 50 signal on the metal detector which means that there is probably iron involved. Most detectors are set up to ignore iron but I decided to dig the earth at that spot and immediately reached some iron ingots which were laid directly on top of the coins. The next shovel was full of coins – they just spilled out over the field. I had no idea how far down the coins went so I stopped immediately and phoned my wife to come to the site with a camera.

Seaton Hoard 2“Under the terms of my licence, I contacted Clinton Devon Estates and Danielle Wooton (Devon Finds Liaison Officer) and Bill Horner (County Archaeologist) and was instructed to take away what was loose and then fill in the hole. Between finding the hoard and the archaeologists excavating the site I slept alongside it in my car for three nights to guard it!”

Rosie Denham, Exeter’s Lead Councillor for Economy and Culture, expressed local delight at the discovery: “This extraordinary hoard will add greatly to our picture of life in Roman Devon. It would be a wonderful addition to RAMM’s collection of local Romano-British objects, which includes finds from Honeyditches. We hope that public support will enable us to acquire the hoard. It has so many exciting stories to tell, not least of which is the exemplary cooperation between the finder, landowner, PAS and county authorities. We look forward to developing and sharing these stories and invite all to help buy and conserve this important discovery.”

Under the Treasure Act 1996, now that the hoard has been declared Treasure by a coroner, it has to be offered to an accredited museum to acquire. The finder and landowner are normally entitled to a reward equal to the market value of the hoard, as determined by the Treasure Valuation Committee.

Mr Egerton addeed, “It’s by far the biggest find I’ve ever had. It really doesn’t get any better than this! It is so important to record all of these finds properly because it’s so easy to lose important insights into our history.”

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