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.

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.

"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.

To read the complete articles, see:
Hoard of Roman coins found during building work(https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gxnjq3ye0o)
A Hoard of Gold and Silver Roman Coins Dating Back to the Reign of Emperor Nero was Found in Worcestershire(https://arkeonews.net/a-hoard-of-gold-and-silver-roman-coins-dating-back-to-the-reign-of-emperor-nero-was-found-in-worcestershire/)