Cunetio Hoard Explained

The Cunetio Hoard, also known as the Mildenhall Hoard,[1] is the largest hoard of Roman coins found in Britain. It was discovered in 1978 at the site of the Roman town of Cunetio, near modern-day Mildenhall, Wiltshire, and consisted of 54,951 low value coins. The coins were contained in a large pot and a lead container. The coins are now in the British Museum[2] and the pot is on display at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes.

Overview

Cunetio developed from a small settlement into an important economic market for the area, which is thought to explain the concentration of coins.[3] Excavation of a nearby well in 1912 uncovered 102 coins, possibly from another hoard.[4] A smaller hoard had been found at this site in 1960.[5]

The 1978 hoard consisted of 54,951 coins weighing over 390lb.[6] Most of the coins were low value Radiates,[7] however there were significant numbers of Antoniniani,[8] some of which dated from the reign of Gallienus (253–268).[9] The dates of the coins were between AD 250–275, however the majority are from the independent empire established in Gaul by Postumus in 260.[10] [11] Larger hoards of Roman coins have been found at Misrata in Libya[12] and are believed to have been found at Evreux in France (100,000 coins) and Komin, Croatia (300,000 coins); however, at the time of its discovery the Cunetio Hoard was by far the largest in Britain.

The site of the hoard and the wider settlement were surveyed and excavated for the Channel 4 television programme Time Team in 2009.[13]

See also

Sources

External links

51.422°N -1.694°W

Notes and References

  1. Nigel Kerton, C4's Time Team dig in at Mildenhall, at gazetteandherald.co.uk, Friday 4 September 2009
  2. https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.aspx?place=35579&plaA=35579-3-1 British Museum Collection
  3. Web site: Nurse. Keith. Late Roman Coin Hoards and Wansdyke. Wansdyke Project 21. 3 September 2016.
  4. Web site: The Archaeology of Wiltshire's Towns An Extensive Urban Survey Cunetio. Wiltshire County Archaeology Service. 3 September 2016.
  5. Sam. Moorhead. John. Kent. Cunetio (1960) hoard. Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine. 103. 2010. 317–19.
  6. Web site: Roman Hungerford. Hungerford Virtual Museum. 3 September 2016.
  7. Web site: Abdy. Richard. Ghey. Eleanor. Hughes. Celine. Lewis. Ian. Coins Hoards from Roman Britain Volume XII. Collection Moneta. 3 September 2016.
  8. Book: Manders. Erika. Coining Images of Power: Patterns in the Representation of Roman Emperors on Imperial Coinage, A.D. 193-284. 2012. BRILL. 9789004224001. 54.
  9. Web site: Gallienus (August AD 253 - March AD 268). Timeline Originals. 3 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160920022643/http://www.time-lines.co.uk/gallienus-coins-22703-0.html. 20 September 2016. dead.
  10. Web site: The Cunetio Treasure . Ancient Numismatic Enterprise. 3 September 2016.
  11. Web site: Postumus Antoniniani, Cologne mint, Complete List. Gallic Empire. 3 September 2016.
  12. Web site: Tesoro monetale di Misurata (Libya) . Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche . 25 June 2010 . Italian . 11 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091211185551/http://www.cnr.it/istituti/Banchedati.html?cds=098 . dead .
  13. Web site: Museum on Time Team this Sunday!. Wiltshire Museum. 3 September 2016.

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