roman Archives - Regton Metal Detectors

Roman coin hoard found by metal detectorists in Leominster

7 August 20157 August 2015 Regton Detectors 2 Comments

Leominster Roman coin hoard unearthed by a pair of Herefordshire metal detectorists. The British Museum has revealed a hoard of more than 500 Roman coins was found by two metal detector enthusiasts in a Herefordshire field. The 518 mixed copper coins, found near Leominster, had been placed in cloth bags and hidden in the ground in a leather satchel. Experts believe the coins were deliberately buried. The British Museum said it was very rare to find hoards so well-preserved.

The hoard was found in July 2013 by paramedics and metal detector enthusiasts Jeremy Daw and Martin Fulloway. The news of the find has only just been made public by the British Museum. Mr Fulloway said four of the coins were stuck to a stone, while others were in the loose soil. Mr Daw said the coins were possibly buried during a time of unrest in the Roman empire. The earth was x-rayed at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and then examined by the British Museum. The coins range from from AD 260 to circa 290 and include eight coins of the Britannic Empire.

The hoard was declared treasure trove in June by the Hereford coroner and will now be valued by the British Museum. The value will then be shared with the two finders, landowner and Hereford and Leominster Museum.

Peter Reavill, a finds officer for the British Museum, said that this is one of the best-preserved coin hoards I have seen. He said he hoped funds would be raised to keep the collection in the county.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

Roman coin hoard found by metal detectorists in Leominster

7 August 20157 August 2015 Regton Detectors 2 Comments

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

Roman coin hoard found in primary school

12 May 201512 May 2015 Regton Detectors Leave a comment

A hoard of Roman coins has been unearthed in the grounds of a primary school in Reading. A pot with up to 300 coins was discovered during an archaeological exploration of the site before The Ridgeway School’s redevelopment works. Experts believe the container was buried by a Roman citizen or farmer for safe keeping, possibly during a time of crisis or threat. Once assessed, there are plans to display the coins at Reading Museum.

Head teacher Madeleine Cosgrove said: “Both pupils and staff are very excited about this discovery and look forward to the story unfolding so that it can be preserved as part of the heritage of The Ridgeway School.” Investigations have shown there was probably a small Roman farm or hamlet on the site, which was preceded by late Bronze Age activity around 1,000 to 800 BC. The pot, coins and any other artefacts found during the archaeological dig at the school belong to the landowner, Reading Borough Council, and fall under the requirements of the Treasure Act 1996.

Source http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire

Rare bronze Roman cockerel on display in Cirencester.

4 November 20144 November 2014 Regton Detectors Leave a comment

Three years since it was discovered during excavations on an ancient cemetery, a rare bronze Roman cockerel has been given a permanent home. The 2nd century figurine is believed to be one of only nine ever found in the Roman Empire, and is part of a new exhibition at the Corinium Museum in the Cirencester.

The child was buried wearing hobnailed shoes and was accompanied by a pottery feeding vessel, and the remarkable enamelled bronze figurine of a cockerel. The cockerel is 5-inches tall (12.5cm) and the breast, wings, eyes and ‘comb’ are inlaid with enamel, which now appears blue and green. There is a separately moulded tail plate, also enamelled, with ‘openwork’ decoration. The beak is shown open, in the act of crowing. It is believed that the Romans gave religious significance to the cockerel which was known to be connected with Mercury. Experts claim it was Mercury, a messenger to the gods, that was also responsible for conducting newly-deceased souls to the afterlife. Statues of this god, including one in the Corinium Museum, commonly show a cockerel at the base. The association probably stems from Mercury’s role as the messenger to the gods and that of the cockerel as ‘announcer’ of the new dawn. Mercury was also the ‘herdsman for the dead’, guiding newly deceased souls on their passage to the afterlife. It is therefore possible that the cockerel was an offering by a devotee of Mercury and expresses a parent’s particular concern to ensure safe transit of a loved one into the after world.

Dovedale Roman and Iron Age coins at Buxton Museum

28 October 201428 October 2014 Regton Detectors Leave a comment

A hoard of 2,000-year-old coins discovered in a cave in the Peak District have gone on public display. The late Iron Age and Roman coins were discovered in Dovedale, Derbyshire, by a member of the public, prompting a full-scale excavation in July. It is thought to have been the first time coins from these two origins have been found together in a British cave. Ros Westwood from Buxton Museum, where they are on permanent display, said she thinks they were dropped by mistake.

Roman jewellery found beneath shop in Colchester

5 September 20145 September 2014 Regton Detectors Leave a comment

Roman jewellery defined as being of national importance has been discovered during excavations at an Essex department store. Gold and silver armlets, bracelets, rings and coins were found concealed in the remains of a Roman house beneath Williams and Griffin in Colchester. It is thought they were hidden by their wealthy owner in AD61, when Boudicca’s British tribes burnt down the town. Colchester Archaeological Trust said it was a remarkable Roman collection. The jewellery was found during renovation work at the shop, which is part of the Fenwick group and currently undergoing a £30m redevelopment.

rare roman brooch detected with metal detector xp deus

Rare Roman brooch detected in Aldridge.

22 July 201422 July 2014 Regton Detectors Leave a comment

Craig Pulley found a rare brooch while scouring a field on the outskirts of his home town, Aldridge, near Walsall. He almost threw away his incredibly rare find, believing it to be junk. Last week Birmingham Museum confirmed the significance of Craig’s discovery. It’s an Aesica brooch, measuring 60mm by 40mm, dating between AD70 and AD100. The brooch, made from copper alloy, won’t make Craig a rich man. But it is significant for two reasons:
-It is in a bow shape – and few of those survive. “Fibula” clasps are more commonly uncovered.
-It is rare evidence of a Roman settlement in Aldridge.
Mr Pulley is using an XP Deus metal detector which is available in Regton Metal Detectors Shop.

Because the brooch is not made from precious metal, Craig can keep it. And he has no intention of selling the rare item.

Mr Pulley with an XP Deus metal detector, and his unique Roman brooch

Rare Roman gold coin unerathed in Devon

3 July 20143 July 2014 Regton Detectors Leave a comment

A hobbyist from Devon has unearthed a solid gold coin lost by a Roman soldier around 1400 years ago. Metal detector enthusiast Stephen Lovering made the discovery last week after scouting an area believed to house the remains of a lost village. Heavy to hold and about the size of a 5p piece, the Heraclius gold tremessis is believed to date between 610 and 642 AD and was preserved, in pristine condition, in the water bed. Stephen, 60, has been searching for historical artefacts since 1972 after seeing an article about metal detecting.
His first detector cost him just £15 and since then Stephen has upgraded his machines throughout his 35 years of detecting, and now uses the internet to study land and unearth Roman sites in the area.

Roman gold coin found at site of lost village in Devon

Cornwall treasure to go on display

26 June 201426 June 2014 Regton Detectors Leave a comment

Gold treasure found in the ground to go on show at Royal Cornwall Museum. A new display of Cornwall’s treasures, including hoards of Roman gold and items from the Bronze Age will go on show at the Royal Cornwall Museum on July 21. The display of has possible by a significant grant from the Art Fund, supported by The Headley Trust, through their Treasure Plus funding programme. The Treasure Plus grant has enabled Royal Cornwall Museum to conserve and display a late Bronze Age metalworker’s hoard found in St Buryan parish and a hoard of Roman coins found in Luxulyan parish.

Medieval Seal Matrix

soveso hoard treasure roman gold and silver

Sevso Hoard returns to Budapest

15 May 201415 May 2014 Regton Detectors Leave a comment

The recent return of seven of the 14 pieces of Roman silver to Hungary from the UK is a positive development in the find’s sad history.

It is suggested the treasure have been discovered—the circumstances remain unclear—in the 1970s. That the late Peter Wilson, formerly the chairman of Sotheby’s, should have started acquiring pieces of the treasure in 1980 appears strange today, since it was not until 1981 that a Lebanese export permit (later found to be forged) was obtained for the first four pieces that were bought. A more suspicious buyer would have comprehended that the treasure must have been looted and must have been exported illegally from its country of origin.

The key piece, the Hunting Plate, along with six other major pieces of silverware, has now been returned. The Hunting Plate is significant, for it bears an inscription referring to its owner, Sevso (from whom the treasure takes its name), as well as a reference to Pelso, the Roman name for Lake Balaton in Hungary, near where the treasure was allegedly found. That now appears to have been the case, although the government of Croatia has not yet withdrawn its claim to ownership.

Marcus Linell, a senior director of Sotheby’s, with some of the Sevso hoard before its aborted sale in 1990