A TREASURE trove of more than 1,000 silver coins dating back to the Roman era has been unearthed in the Midlands.
A damaged pot containing a total of 1,141 silver Dinarii, which date back as far as 206 BC, was discovered by 47-year-old amateur historian Keith Bennett while he was using his metal detector in a field in south Warwickshire.
The exact value of the find is not yet known but a hearing at Warwickshire Coroner’s Court was told that Mr Bennett could be in line for a “considerable amount of money”.
The coins will now be sent to the British Museum where an independent committee will officially value them before the state decides if it would like to purchase the discovery.
Mr Bennett, who runs a mobile library for Warwickshire County Council, said: “I just had an incredible feeling of history and going back in time.
“I felt a sense of connection with the person who buried these coins all those years ago.
“I wondered who they were and why they didn’t come back for it.
“It was brilliant – an experience that everyone should have.
“I’ve been doing metal detecting for 11 years and never had a find like that.
“I really hope that the experts can garner some useful information from the coins and the pot they were found in.”
Experts believe the pot of coins could have been buried by a trader in an attempt to hide his stash from the Romans when they invaded England more than 2,000 years ago.
David Freke, a consultant archaeologist who directed an excavation team at a nearby site last year, said: “The place where this treasure was found was in the frontier zone between Roman invasion and British tribes resisting them to the north.
“It could have been buried because its owner was worried that the Romans would not let him keep it.
“It was an extremely uncomfortable time to be living in.
“And as he never came back for his pot of coins, he could easily have met the fate that he had feared.”
Mr Bennett, and a group of amateur historians, have asked the location of the site to be kept secret amid fears of pillaging.