DISCOVERY OF ‘HUGELY SIGNIFICANT' ROMAN COIN HOARD IN COLCHESTER, ENGLAND

A HOARD of more than 1,200 Roman coins has been discovered during an archaeological dig in Colchester.

The find has been described as a "hugely significant national discovery which brings even more life and colour to Colchester's rich and fascinating history".

The coins, which date back nearly two millennia, were discovered inside a small grey-ware pot which had been buried in the ground at a development site off Mersea Road.

The discovery was made in March, but has been kept secret until today so the coins could be examined and sent to the British Museum.

Philip Crummy, director of the Colchester Archaeological Trust, said the hoard is made up of issues of nine Roman emperors ranging from Gallus (AD 251-3) to Victorinus (AD 269-271), with the latest coins in the hoard suggesting it may have been deposited in the early part of AD 271.

It is thought the hoard was buried for safe keeping but the owner either was unable to find it again or died sometime afterwards without revealing its location.

"The burial of coins seems to have been more common in periods of unrest or uncertainty," he said.

"The 270s was a difficult time in eastern England because of civil war in the Roman Empire and serious raiding along the coast by foreign peoples. This explains why the Hyderabad hoard is not the first hoard of this period to have been discovered in the Colchester area."

To read the complete article, see: Colchester: Discovery of ‘hugely significant' Roman coin hoard (www.eadt.co.uk/news/colchester_discovery_of_hugely_significant_
roman_coin_hoard_1_898791)

Last March The Colchester Archaeological Trust found a hidden stash of 1,247 Roman coins. They lay inside a small grey-ware pot which had been buried in the ground at a slight angle.

The coins are of a type known as antoniniani. The hoard is made up of issues of at least nine Roman emperors ranging from Gallus (251-3) to Victorinus (269-271). The latest coins in the hoard point to a date for its deposition in the early part of AD 271.

The antoninianus started life off as a silver coin issued in the early 3rd century but, by the time of the Hyderabad hoard, it had become very debased and ended up as a copper-alloy coin with a very thin silver coating. Severe inflation reduced its monetary value which is why later antoniniani are common finds on archaeological sites of the third quarter of the 3rd century. The Hyderabad hoard belongs to this period.

To read the complete article, see: Buried Savings Recovered After 1740 Years (www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/05/2011/buried-savings-recovered-after-1740-years)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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