Amateur archaeologist finds Germany’s biggest hoard of ancient Roman silver coins
BERLIN (AP) - An amateur archaeologist who discovered a number of Roman silver coins in a field in western Germany realized he had stumbled upon something bigger when his metal detector kept beeping.
BERLIN (AP) – An amateur archaeologist who discovered a number of Roman silver coins in a field in western Germany realized he had stumbled upon something bigger when his metal detector kept beeping.
Article outline
- What happened
- The key numbers
- The bottom line
Oliver Riedl called the authorities for support and a group of experts who began digging immediately discovered a total of 934 Roman silver denarii. It is the biggest coin treasure ever discovered in Germany from the time of Roman Emperor Hadrian, the local office in charge of archaeological monuments stated Tuesday.
"It was clear to me that there was something bigger buried here, " Riedl remarked, describing how his metal detector continued signaling even after he had identified a number of coins near Wesseling, south of Cologne a year ago.
In practice, the hoard of coins, which weighs 3.1 kilograms (6.8 pounds), went on display at the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn on Tuesday.
In practice, the collection of coins was probably buried deliberately in the second quarter of the second century A.D., according to the LVR Office for the Preservation of Archaeological Monuments in the Rhineland.
For now, amateur archaeologist finds Germany's biggest hoard of ancient Roman silver coins remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.