Nigel Slater, '
Hoard of Roman coins found in Derbyshire field by treasure hunters'
They date back almost 2,000 years Derby Telegraph, 25 Oct 2019
A hoard of over 260 coins dating back almost 2,000 years has been found near a Derbyshire village.
The 2nd, 3rd and 4th century coins were discovered by two people during an excavation of land in Parwich, near Ashbourne.
The find was revealed during a series of treasure inquests at Derby and Derbyshire Coroners' Court.
The 12 different types of Roman coins were found scattered in woodland by Thomas Dobson and Robbie Wilson who were metal detecting in the area last year.
It was heard at the inquest how the pair had contacted authorities once they had found the coins, the majority of which are believed to be dated between 330AD and 340AD. [...] Exact locations of the find have not been released by authorities but it was heard how the finders dug down to solid rock to recover the hoard. Alastair Willis, finds liaison officer for Derbyshire, urged the pair not to dig any further due to the site being a suspected burial site.
Another case of artefact hunting in unploughed land ('Code of Best Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting, anyone?'). It is not clear why this report mentions the woodland, while an earlier one - apparently the same hoard says something else: Sophie Wills and Gareth Butterfield, '
Ancient buried treasure dug up in Derbyshire field', Derby Telegraph 28th Jan 2019.
A hoard of buried treasure featuring hundreds of ancient coins has been unearthed in a Derbyshire field.
Metal detectorists made the astounding discovery in a village near Ashbourne.
The hoard of 260 coins, dating from 194 to 378AD, have been legally classified as "treasure" at an inquest.
They were found by metal detectorists Thomas Dobson and Robbie Wilson at the side of a bronze-age barrow, in Parwich, in March 2018.
The Derbyshire Times reported that the inquest, held at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court, heard the coins were buried two and-a-half feet underground [...] The hoard was initially reported to the county's finds liaison officer Alastair Willis[...] He told Derbyshire Live: "The hoard is fascinating because it was found buried in the side of what may have been a Bronze Age barrow (burial mound).
"The discovery of the coins indicates that the site probably had a sacred significance to local people during the 4th century AD.
"The site is still under investigation by archaeologists, so more information about the hoard and the site might become available in the future."[...] Most coins in the hoard were [...] from the AD330s and 340s, but there were a handful of earlier and later coins.
It was not clear if the coins, which could have been a votive or ritualistic offering given the nature of where they were found, formed a single deposit or were placed at the site over a number of decades.
The journalists missed the point that NO information about the context of the find comes from 'metal detecting' (collection-driven exploitation of the archaeological record). The FLO may have been 'fascinated' by metal detecting partners digging down to bedrock through the side of a prehistoric earthwork, the rest of us think his job should consist of publicly and loudly condemning such selfish vandalism.
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