,,,,,And Another Roman Hoard Comes To Light.

Seaton Down Hoard: Amateur metal detector uncovers 22,000 Roman coins

Again another metal detectorist hits the headlines this weekend after discovering a hoard of Roman coins. Comprising of about 22,000 coins dating back more than 1,700 years, it is the fifth largest find of Roman coins in Britain.

....The metal detectorist called in the experts and watched amazed as archaeologists discovered thousands more coins buried about a foot deep. To ensure the site was not tampered with Mr Egerton slept in his car nearby “for three cold nights” until the dig was finished....

.... The British Museum called the scale of the find “remarkable", adding that it was "one of the largest hoards ever found within the whole Roman Empire”. The largest find in Britain was the Cunetio Hoard of almost 55,000 coins discovered near Mildenhall, Wiltshire in 1978....

.... One of the coins is particularly special. It marks the one millionth find of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, set up in 1997 to provide a record of all the finds brought in by members of the public.....

READ MORE....

The detectorist who made the find immediately reported the find in accordance with the Treasure Act 1996 to the landowner Clinton Devon Estates, Devon County Council’s County Archaeologist and the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) who informed the Coroner. The hoard was then carefully removed in its entirety by a team of archaeologists and over the past 10 months the coins have been lightly cleaned and the process of identification and cataloguing has begun by experts at the British Museum, revealing an important part of Britain’s history. The way in which the Seaton Down Hoard has been handled throughout has been textbook and a credit to our hobby.

*UPDATE*

 BBC's One Show intervierw with the detectorist here....