Secret History

Roman coin stash 'may have been linked to Boudiccan revolt'

BBC
Mon, 15 Jul 2019 12:00 UTC

Statue of Boudicca

A hoard of Roman coins found in a field may have been hidden there during the Boudiccan revolt, an expert has said.

The trove of 60 denarii, dating between 153BC and AD60-61, was found in a field near Cookley, in Suffolk, by a metal detectorist.

Dr Anna Booth, who examined the find, said there "might be a link with the Boudiccan revolt" and the coins.

Queen Boudicca led the Iceni tribe against the Romans in AD61 which led to the destruction of Colchester.

Most of the coins dated from the Republic era, pre-27BC, but there were also denarii minted during the reigns of emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Nero.

Dr Booth said: "This hoard is interesting because the latest coin dated to the reign of Nero in AD60-61. The final coin is often an indication of when a hoard is likely to have been deposited.

"There might be a link with the Boudiccan revolt which took place in AD61 in this region."

She added: "It was quite a tumultuous time in East Anglia.

"There does seem to be a slight increase in hoarding in this period. It is a stretch of the imagination, we are not 100% sure, but in this region it is tempting to say this is because of what was happening in this period."

Thousands died during Boudicca's revolt across East Anglia after she united local tribes against the Roman rulers.

Colchester, then the capital of Roman Britain, London and St Albans were all destroyed before she was defeated.

The find, from August 2018, was made up of 58 solid silver coins, two of which were silver-plated copies.

Senior coroner Nigel Parsley declared it to be treasure at an inquest in Ipswich.

Comment: It's noteworthy that the eruption of Vesuvius in Pompeii is thought to have occurred in AD79.

See also:

Reader Comments

Rowan Cocoan · 2019-07-20T17:59:31Z

"Senior coroner Nigel Parsley declared it to be treasure at an inquest in Ipswich."

So, your Coroners determine who gets to own found treasure? (I guess that's what the inquest was about.) Perhaps he was "Quincy, M.D."? Doesn't he kind of stink up the find? Is it like on a slab at the morgue? (Think of the unzipping of the body bag in 'Silence of the Lambs.') Does it have its own little drawer? If so, is that one in particular kept locked? (Faceitious all.)

You Brits with your crazy laws. Thank God Ours come from . . . nevermind...

Also, THIS is declared a 'historical' usage: "in England, an official responsible for safeguarding the private property of the Crown." (First result at Google.)

R.C.

Ravenwolf0410 · 2019-07-21T06:45:10Z

When I lived in St. Ives, Cambridgeshire back in 1988, I was medal detecting a cow pasture close too a Canal and a run from the river Themes. I stated finding a few Roman coins and pottery. Nothing major.

Then I hit a sight with tons of artifacts. Even a small bronze sculpture. Two days later, cops and two museum authorities were banging at the door at 8am in the morning, demanding everything I found or else be arrested and deported. I was 13 at the time.

What I located, was the site of an old Roman fort people had been trying too find for over a hundred years. I received no credit or reward for the find. Just a threat of imprisonment and deportation. Even though I had written permission from the land owner too metal detect.

That written permission is what saved my ass

Rowan Cocoan · 2019-07-21T09:52:44Z

Ravenwolf0410 Wow! What Bullshit!

I guess that the 'job' of the Crown's Buried Treasure 'Coroners' is not simply to ensure that the 'Crown' gets its 'fair share'; but instead are there to put the false stamp of 'legally owned by the crown', and give the appearance of a 'fair system', when it seems clearly otherwise.

I have a siimilar story of government overreaching and abuse of judicial power from when I was 16. Though a different iissue, (and I won the illegal ticket I received) and yet, I only won such after the court had threatened to bring the weight of Florida's Government down on me - andd hard! (And I was just a 16 year old kid who'd looked at the statute book.)

"Power hot only corrupts, but it absolutely ATTRACTS those who are easily corruupted." (R.C. 7/21/19, CL Copyriight retained.)

R.C.

Winternights2 · 2019-07-21T06:57:06Z

There is a reason for such behaviour by the authorities, it's called closure, and the swift removal of anything? That might make us question our past.

I own a metal detector, I'd midst as own a gun.

The crippling restrictions imposed upon someone wishing to pursue a harmless hobby of trying to unearth our past, is unbelievable.

There are strict laws and penalties around treasure trove, a god forbid that your the wrong side of the law.

Oh, so it is going back to what it was like when I was a kid? Thames gonna freeze over? Wintery winters and summery summers again?

Michael L

it's business, a game.....has been for ages, and will continure, for as long as the substratum support it. or they decide to thin out the...

Shangri

Quite a bit of occultation in this article I would say…

Acr

Still reminds me of Operation Gladio.

JohnDukes

If only they used all that time, money and effort to try solve real world problems LOL

LadyRad

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Roman coin stash 'may have been linked to Boudiccan revolt'

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