Friends find 1st-century Roman settlement

A HOARD of 2,000-year-old silver Roman coins has been found by three friends and a metal detector in Yorkshire.

The find has also uncovered evidence of a highstatus Roman settlement, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

The hoard was unearthed by Paul King, a semi-retired logistics manager, and his friends Robert Hamer and Robin Siddle in 2015 but has been kept secret as archaeologists explore the site.

Now, more silver coins, hundreds of Roman pottery sherds and a tiny brooch, found on one of three neonatal burials, have been uncovered.

Chris Casswell, leading the excavation, said: “It’s a beautiful little brooch … The kind of size to keep a cloak around a baby. It’s so small and delicate.”

He said they had only scratched the surface of the site, the discovery of which is “very exciting and important”, partly because it is one of the earliest Roman settlements to have been found. While there are examples from the 3rd and 4th centuries, Mr Casswell said: “it is rare to find one of such an early date”.

Other evidence at the site includes post-holes and foundation trenches, with the remnants of stone walls that once stood there.

The excavation is being conducted by DigVentures, founded in 2012 to fill the gap left by severe cuts to research archaeology.

Lisa Westcott Wilkins, of DigVentures, asked The Sunday Telegraph not to identify the site’s location because of the danger of night-hawkers, with high level of surveillance now on the site.

An important part of DigVentures’ work is accessibility and they will present the finds at public events, including their DigNation festival in September on Lindisfarne. For more, visit digventures. com.