Pair of Cornwall Detectorists Unearth Roman Hoard

A pair of metal-detecting enthusiasts searching the banks of a river estuary in Cornwall, England, have unearthed a significant hoard of some 700 Roman coins, according to the UK's Independent newspaper.

According to the newspaper account, Jonathan Clemes and Trevor Bird, who had been detecting as a hobby for more than 15 years, discovered a partially broken clay pot containing part of the hoard. Eighty or more coins were also discovered in the immediate vicinity after four more hours of searching.

The hoard is now undergoing cleaning and analysis at the British Museum. An archaeologist at the local Truro Museum had commented that the coins represent the rarest of their kind found in Britain.