Stanchester Hoard Explained

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Stanchester Hoard
Material:Coins
Period:Romano-British
Size:1,166 coins
Discovered:Wilcot, Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, by John and David Philpott on 25 July 2000
Location:Wiltshire Museum, Devizes
Id:2000 Fig 268

The Stanchester Hoard is a hoard of 1,166 Roman coins dating from the fourth to early fifth century found in 2000 at Wilcot, in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England.[1] The find was considered important because of the large quantity of unclipped silver coins contained within.[2] It was also the latest dated example of Roman coins found in Wiltshire.[1]

Discovery

The hoard was discovered in a field on 25 July 2000 by John and David Philpotts, using metal detectors. It had been buried in a flagon made from pottery of the Alice Holt type.[3] The hoard was named after the former Stanchester villa, a nearby Roman villa with which the hoard was likely to have been associated, along with the Wansdyke earthwork.[4] Excavations of the villa in 1931 and 1969 revealed a wall and evidence for a Roman central heating system. Roof and flue tiles and pottery shards were dated by associated coins, which were from the 2nd to the 4th centuries.[5]

The Wiltshire Museum in Devizes acquired the hoard for £50,000 following a coroner's inquest which declared it treasure trove.

Items discovered

The Stanchester Hoard contains three gold solidi, 33 silver miliarenses—many described as in "mint condition",[1] 1129 silver siliquae and one copper-alloy nummus, as well as a fragment of a bronze ring.[3] The earliest coin was struck in the reign of Constantine I starting in 307; the latest coin was struck in 406 during the joint reign of Arcadius and Honorius. The silver coins were not clipped, suggesting that they had never been circulated.[2] [4] Within a year of the latest minting, Constantine III, declared emperor by his troops, crossed to Gaul with an army and was defeated by Honorius; it is unclear how many Roman troops remained or ever returned, or whether a commander-in-chief in Britain was ever reappointed.

Reign Date ? of coins Empire
307–363 99 Western
364–392 863 Western
383–388 197 Western
383–423 3 E / W
Uncertain 4

The coins came from a number of mints across the Roman Empire, at Siscia, Sirmium, Constantinople, Trier, Aquileia, Lyons, Rome, Thessaloniki, Milan and Antioch.[3]

Other Stanchester finds

In 1865, Roman tesserae, coins, pieces of bronze, shale whorls, pottery and a flint knife were found in an area known as Stanchester in Curry Rivel, Somerset.[6]

Other Roman places in England named Stanchester include the site of another villa in Pitchford, Shropshire.[7]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Late Roman Coin Hoards and Wansdyke. Keith Nurse. Wansdyke Project 21. 8 July 2010.
  2. Web site: Analysis of Coin Hoards from Roman Britain. forumancientcoins.com. 8 July 2010.
  3. Web site: Treasure Annual Report 2000 . . 2001 . 8 July 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120301112414/http://www.ncmd.co.uk/docs/treasurereport2000.pdf . 1 March 2012 .
  4. Web site: Table 3. forumancientcoins.com. 8 July 2010.
  5. http://www.tvas.co.uk/reports/pdf/MFP02-78ev.pdf Manor Farm, Wilcot, Pewsey, Wiltshire, An Archaeological Evaluation for W. Madiment
  6. Web site: Monument no. 191845 . . Pastscape . 21 July 2010.
  7. Web site: Monument no. 70090. English Heritage. Pastscape. 21 July 2010.