The Beau Street Hoard
A huge hoard of Roman silver coins has been found by archaeologists
working just 150 metres from the Roman Baths. It is one of the
largest hoards ever found in Britain.
The hoard dates to 270AD, a time of great
upheaval when the western Roman empire was threatened by civil war
and barbarian invasion.
Thousands of coins are fused together in a
large block, making identification and counting the exact number
very difficult. Conservators at the British Museum are taking a
whole year to do the work. There are believed to be more than
30,000 coins making this one of the 5 largest hoards ever found and
the largest from a Roman town.
The coins are also the largest hoard ever
found by a professional archaeologist – Hazel O’Neill of Cotswold
Archaeology.
The Roman Baths is raising £150,000 to
acquire, conserve and display the hoard. If you would like to help
with a donation please phone the Roman Baths Administrator
on +44 (0)1225 477773 with your credit card details, or
send a cheque made payable to ‘Bath & North East Somerset
Council’ to:
The Roman Baths
Pump Room
Stall Street
BATH
BA1 1LZ
Beau street coins from the hoard