Cunetio Hoard facts for kids
The Cunetio Hoard, sometimes called the Mildenhall Hoard, is the biggest collection of Roman coins ever found in Britain! It's a true hoard of ancient treasure. This amazing discovery happened in 1978. It was found at the site of an old Roman town called Cunetio. This place is close to the modern town of Mildenhall, Wiltshire.
The hoard contained a huge number of coins: 54,951 low-value coins! They were hidden inside a large pot and a lead box. Today, these coins are kept safely at the British Museum. The pot that held some of the coins is on display at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes.
Discovering the Cunetio Hoard
The Roman town of Cunetio started as a small settlement. Over time, it grew into an important trading center. This might explain why so many coins were found there. Before the main hoard, other coins had been found nearby. In 1912, 102 coins were found in a well. A smaller collection of coins was also found at the site in 1960.
The Huge 1978 Coin Find
The Cunetio Hoard found in 1978 was massive. It weighed over 390 pounds (about 177 kilograms)! Most of the coins were low-value types called Radiates. However, there were also many Antoniniani coins. Some of these older coins were from the time of Emperor Gallienus (253-268 AD).
The coins in the hoard were made between 250 AD and 275 AD. Most of them came from a special empire. This empire was set up in Gaul (modern-day France) by a leader named Postumus in 260 AD. He ruled independently from Rome for a while.
How Big Was It?
When it was found, the Cunetio Hoard was by far the largest coin hoard ever discovered in Britain. Even bigger Roman coin hoards have been found in other parts of the world. For example, a hoard was found in Misrata, Libya. Others are believed to have been found in Evreux, France (around 100,000 coins), and Komin, Croatia (around 300,000 coins). But for Britain, the Cunetio Hoard was a record-breaker!
Exploring the Site
In 2009, the place where the hoard was found was explored again. This happened for a TV show called Time Team on Channel 4. They surveyed and dug at the site of the Roman town. This helped people learn even more about Cunetio and its history.
