UK's Largest Coin Hoard Discovered

The largest hoard (by a factor of 3) of early Roman silver coins found in Britain have been found at Shapwick in Somerset. They were located by metal detector in August 1998 and the Treasure inquest is being held on Tuesday 9 November 1999. The hoard was correctly reported to the West Somerset Coroner and the coins received by the Somerset Museum Service who transferred them to the British Museum for identification and cleaning.

Following the find a small area around the spot was archaeologically excavated by staff of Somerset County Council which indicated that the hoard had been buried in the corner of a stone building. Unfortunately the site was severely ploughed, no floor levels survived and therefore it could not be established whether the building was standing at the time of deposition. The pottery from the excavation has not yet been examined but the coin sequence continues into the 4th century.

New Villa Also Uncovered

On the basis of this information, Paul Linford of the Ancient Monuments Laboratory of English Heritage carried out a magnetometer survey of the whole field which located more buildings with every appearance of being a large courtyard villa. Several other ditched enclosures were identified.

Earlier this year 6 further trenches were excavated by Richard Brunning and Chris Webster of Somerset County Council with a team of local volunteers. This confirmed the results of the geophysics and the earlier excavation. The site was extremely badly damaged by ploughing. No floor levels survived and most walls had been reduced to one course of foundation. Several areas had been extensively robbed. Full analysis of the finds is awaited but it is already clear that some of the ditched enclosures are iron age.

Nearly 10,000 Denarii

The hoard itself comprises 9377 silver denarii (and no other types) spanning the period 31BC (Mark Antony) to AD222-35 (Severus Alexander) and includes some extremely rare types such as two coins of Manlia Scantilla, wife of Didius Julianus who ruled for a period of a few weeks in AD193. These are the first coins of this type from a British hoard.

The name of Shapwick will be familiar as it is the most extensively studied parish in Somerset. A ten-year programme of field walking, geophysical survey and excavation started by Mick Aston is just coming to an end. The field had been fieldwalked and one denarius recovered together with a small scatter of Roman pottery - but not enough to suggest a substantial settlement. This paucity of finds was reflected in the excavation and presumably reflects the extent of the plough damage. At the start of the project a 'central' Roman site was predicted but not located until now.

The find has been a model of co-operation between archaeologists and metal detectorists although it is fortunate that both Somerset County Council and the Ancient Monuments were able to devote time and money to this project at short notice.