BADGER FINDS ROMAN COIN HOARD IN SPAIN

A foraging badger appears to have uncovered the largest stash of Roman coins ever found in northern Spain.

Archaeologists believe the badger inadvertently dug up the stash of 209 coins dating from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD that had fallen into a hole close to its sett in a cave near the village of Bercio in Asturias.

The Cuesta cave, also known as the Godulfo cave after a legendary barbarian king, has been a focus for treasure hunters since the 18th century.

The stash was probably hidden by locals before the invasion of the Suebi, a Germanic clan that settled in north-western Spain during the late Roman Empire, archaeologists wrote in a report published in the journal Notebooks on Prehistory and Archaeology. During the 5th century the surrounding area became a frontier zone between the Romans and the Suebi, which explains the discovery of several other stashes of coins in caves in that part of the country.

The coins were discovered in a narrow natural vertical pool, the lower part of which had been dug up by the [badger], removing part of the deposit from the entrance of the burrow and leaving more pieces in the deeper part, the archaeologists said.

The stash of coins were minted between the reigns of Emperors Carus and Valentinian III, allowing archaeologists to estimate that they were probably hidden in the cave in the middle of the 5th century. One follis, or bronze coin, was minted as far away as London during the reign of Constantine. It shows what appears to be a gladiator or soldier wielding a spear and shield.

To read the complete article, see:
Badger beats detectorists to hoard of Roman coins in Spain (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/badger-beats-detectorists-roman-coins-spain-qnmts3c8x)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
Hungry badger may have uncovered Roman coins in Spanish cave (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/09/hungry-badger-may-have-uncovered-roman-coins-in-spanish-cave)
Spain: Badger thought to have found Roman treasure (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59937510)
https://news.yahoo.com/hungry-badgers-unearth-hoard-roman-184312898.html (https://news.yahoo.com/hungry-badgers-unearth-hoard-roman-184312898.html)
Badger hunting for food instead unearths ancient treasure (https://news.yahoo.com/badger-hunting-food-instead-unearths-113000633.html)
Badger helps archeologists find mysterious stash of ancient coins (https://nypost.com/2022/01/13/badger-leads-archeologists-to-secret-stash-of-ancient-coins/)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web