Hallaton Roman coin is 'oldest found in Britain'
A silver coin dug
up as part of a hoard is the oldest piece of Roman money found in Britain,
experts believe.
The coin, which has
been dated to 221BC, was found near Hallaton in Leicestershire with 5,000 other
coins, a helmet and decorated bowl.
Uncovered by
archaeologists in 2000, the coin's significance has just been recognised, the
county council said.
It said the coin,
which has the Goddess Roma on one side, was "something very special".
The other side
depicts mythical twins Castor and Pollux sat on galloping horses.
Iron Age shrine
David Sprason,
Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for communities and wellbeing,
said: "Leicestershire boasts the largest number of Iron Age coins ever
professionally excavated in Britain in the Hallaton Treasure.
"To also have
the oldest Roman coin ever found is something very special."
The Hallaton coin
is on display at Harborough Museum, Market Harborough, alongside other coins
that were excavated at a late Iron Age shrine of the Corieltavi tribe dating to
the first century AD.
Museum staff said
it was a mystery as to how this coin came into the possession of the local
Corieltavi tribe.
Some archaeologists
have however speculated that such Roman Republican coins found their way into
Britain before the Roman conquest in 43 AD and were evidence of exchange
through trade or diplomacy.
Professor David
Mattingly of the University of Leicester's School of Archaeology and Ancient
History said: "This hoard has changed our view of just how significant the
East Midlands were in this period and this coin is a good example.
"It indicates
there was contact between this region and the Roman Empire despite the distance
between the East Midlands and the parts of Britain the Romans arrived in, like
Colchester and Chichester."
He added: "It
was minted in Rome at the time of the Hannibalic wars and here it is turning up
after what must have been quite a long journey."
Source: bbc.co.uk