West Bagborough Hoard

The West Bagborough Hoard is a hoard of 670 Roman coins and 72 pieces of hacksilver found in October 2001 by metal detectorist James Hawkesworth near West Bagborough in Somerset, England.

West Bagborough Hoard
Coins from the West Bagborough Hoard on display at the Museum of Somerset
Material	Silver and hacksilver coins
Size	681 coins
Period/culture	Romano-British
Discovered	Near West Bagborough, Somerset, by James Hawkesworth in October 2001
Present location	Somerset County Museum, Taunton
Identification	2001 (Fig 196)

Discovery, excavation and valuation

The hoard was discovered by metal detectorist James Hawkesworth, a policeman from Bishops Lydeard.[1] No trace of buildings or other structures were found in the area.

Following a treasure inquest at Taunton, the hoard was declared treasure and valued at £40,650. Somerset County Museum Services acquired the hoard, with the aid of Somerset County Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund,[2] and £16,400 from the Victoria and Albert Museum/Resource Purchase Grant Fund.[3] It is now displayed at the Museum of Somerset in the grounds of Taunton Castle.[2]

Items discovered

The 681 coins included two denarii from the early 2nd century and eight miliarense and 671 siliqua all dating from the period AD 337 – 367, but including a large number of copies some silver and others from a copper alloy covered with silver sheet.[4] The latest coins indicate that the hoard was buried in circa AD 365. The majority were struck in the reigns of emperors Constantius II and Julian and derive from a range of mints including Arles and Lyons in France, Trier in Germany and Rome.[2] There were also 64 pieces of hacksilver,[5] weighing a total of 722gm.[6][7]

Reign	Date	№ of coins
Trajan	98-117	one
Marcus Aurelius	139-161	one
	2nd century denarii	two
Constantius II	307-363	603
Valentinian period	364-392	12
Uncertain		52

See also

• List of hoards in Britain

References

1. "Aroil 4th News". History Today. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
2. "The West Bagborough Hoard". Newsletter Spring/Summer 2003. Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
3. "Grants Listing: Towns & Cities S-Z". Purchase Grant Fund. Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 28 May 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
4. "Policeman digs up clues to ancient crime". BBC. 2002-04-04. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
5. "Roman coin hoard, West Bagborough". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
6. "Analysis of Coin Hoards from Roman Britain". FORVM Ancient Coins. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
7. "196 West Bagborough, Somerset: 669 Roman silver coins" (PDF). Treasure Annual Report 2001. Department for Culture, Media and Sport. p. 97. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-09-03.