Hoard of Roman coins found during building work in Worcestershire

Worcestershire Heritage, Art & Museums A large number of silver Roman coins in a wooden bowl and scattered around — The treasure consists of 1,368 Iron Age and Roman coins

A hoard of gold and silver Roman coins dating back to the reign of Emperor Nero have been found during building works in Worcestershire.

The treasure, consisting of 1,368 Iron Age and Roman coins, includes the largest collection from the emperor’s reign ever found.

Worcestershire Heritage, Art & Museums said the hoard was discovered in the Leigh and Bransford area, west of Worcester, in late 2023.

It is expected to be valued at more than £100,000.

Experts from the charity said the find was “one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Worcestershire in the last 100 years”.

Most of the coins are silver denarii, minted in Rome and dating from the time of the Roman Republic in 157 BC up to Nero’s reign between AD 54–68.

The sole gold coin is an Iron Age stater, which was minted for the local British tribe, the Dobunni, who were in the area now known as Worcestershire and neighbouring counties to the south and west in AD 20–45.

Dr Murray Andrews, lecturer in British archaeology at University College London, said the discovery was “miraculous”

A close up of Dr Murray Andrews in a grey fleece — Dr Murray Andrews, lecturer in British archaeology at University College London, said the discovery was “miraculous”

Dr Murray Andrews, lecturer in British archaeology at University College London, said the discovery was “remarkable”.

“It’s the most miraculous thing I’ve seen over the last 100 years,” he said.

“It’s an important piece of archaeology.

“It tells us about what was happening here 2000 years ago, when the Malvern hills were maybe the boundary of the Roman Empire.”

One expert theory is that the hoard represents the savings of a wealthy local farmer, who made his money by supplying the Roman army with grain and livestock.

The sheer number of coins meant that the hoard would have represented a “very considerable sum of cash” at the time it was buried, the expert said.

It is likely that the pot containing the coins was made at one of the pottery kilns based at the foot of the Malvern Hills.

Some of the coins date back from the time of the Roman Republic in 157 BC

Worcestershire Heritage, Art & Museums A Roman silver coin with a press of a wheel and curved images — Some of the coins date back from the time of the Roman Republic in 157 BC

After the hoard was declared as treasure by a Worcestershire coroner in June 2024, Worcestershire Heritage, Art & Museums said it was aiming to help raise funds to buy the hoard so that it can go on public display.

It aims to raise £6,000, and hopes the remainder of the cost will be met through grant-funding applications.

If the money cannot be raised, the hoard will be returned to its finders or the landowner and may not ever go on pubic display.

The hoard is the third to have been found in the area in the past 25 years.

Worcestershire Heritage, Art & Museums A Roman silver coin with a press of two people on a chariot being pulled by a number of animals — The hoard is the third to have been found in the area in the past 25 years.

Chair of Worcestershire County Council’s joint museums committee, Karen May, said: “What a fantastic find and so important for anyone wishing to understand more about the county’s heritage.

“This is real Worcestershire treasure, and it needs to be seen and enjoyed by Worcestershire residents for generations to come.”

The hoard is the third to have been found in the area in the past 25 years.

In 1999, 434 silver coins and 38 shards of pottery were found near Chaddesley Corbett.

In a much larger find, two detectorists from Redditch found a clay pot full of 3,784 coins on Bredon Hill in 2011.