A FARMER has said metal detector enthusiasts “hit the jackpot” when they uncovered the largest hoard of Roman coins ever found in Worcestershire, on his family’s land at Bredon Hill.
About 4,000 coins, featuring 16 different Roman Emperors, were discovered in June this year and are thought to be of national significance. The farmer, who is not being named by the Journal, said the exact location of the find may never be revealed.
He said: “We were really taken aback and shocked by it.
Two metal detector guys who have been coming to the farm for years came down the yard and said they found something.
They let the Museum Board know. They tried the field and they hit the jackpot.”
Research suggests the Bredon Hill Hoard dates back to the third century AD and was buried about 100 years after it was accumulated.
Gary Morgan, of Worcestershire County Council said the Coroner’s Court will determine if the coins are ‘treasure’ in November but the value of the coins will not be determined until next year.
The valuation for the hoard is likely be set by the British Museum and a local museum will be given the opportunity to buy it – the money could be shared between the finder and the landowner.
Bredon Hill features a number of significant archaeological sites, including Roman earthworks and the remains of an Iron Age hill fort.
At Elmley Castle, on the north side of the hill, a medieval castle was once home to the Beauchamp family.
The discovery of the Bredon Hill Hoard is the biggest in the Midlands since the Staffordshire Hoard in 2009 when Anglo-Saxon gold valued at more than £3 million was found by metal detector Terry Herbert in an area of farmland in Hammerwich near Lichfield.
The world’s largest ever Roman coin find, the Frome Hoard, was discovered by hospital chef David Crisp and consisted of 52,503 coins stuffed into a pot-bellied Roman jar.
The collection was bought for £320,000 and in September went on display for the first time at the Somerset County Museum at Taunton Castle.
Worcester Museum will be holding a news conference tomorrow about the Bredon Hill Hoard.
For a report of the meeting, visit eveshamjournal.co.uk.
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