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UK treasure hunter finds 52,000 Roman coins
By ROBERT BARR (AP)

LONDON — A treasure hunter has found about 52,500 Roman coins, one of the largest such discoveries ever in Britain, officials said Thursday. The hoard, which was valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who seized power in Britain and northern France in the late third century and proclaimed himself emperor.

Dave Crisp, a treasure hunter using a metal detector, located the coins in April in a field in southwestern England, according to the Somerset County Council and the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The coins were buried in a large jar about a foot (30 centimeters) deep and weighed about 160 kilograms (350 pounds) in all. Crisp said a "funny signal" from his metal detector prompted him to start digging.

"I put my hand in, pulled out a bit of clay and there was a little radial, a little bronze Roman coin — very, very small, about the size of my fingernail," Crisp said in an interview with the BBC. He recovered about 20 coins before discovering that they were in a pot, and realized he needed expert help.

"Because Mr. Crisp resisted the temptation to dig up the coins it has allowed archaeologists from Somerset County Council to carefully excavate the pot and its contents, ensuring important evidence about the circumstances of its burial was preserved," said Anna Booth, of Somerset Council.

Somerset Coroner Tony Williams scheduled an inquest Thursday to formally determine whether the find is subject to the Treasure Act, a formal step toward determining a price to be paid by any institution which wishes to acquire the hoard. The hoard is one of the largest ever found in Britain, and will reveal more about the nation's history in the third century, said Roger Bland, of the British Museum.

The find includes more than 760 coins from the reign of Carausius, the Roman naval officer who seized power in 286 and ruled until he was assassinated in 293. "The late third century A.D. was a time when Britain suffered barbarian invasions, economic crises and civil wars," Bland said. "Roman rule was finally stabilized when the Emperor Diocletian formed a coalition with the Emperor Maximian, which lasted 20 years.

This defeated the separatist regime which had been established in Britain by Carausius. "This find presents us with an opportunity to put Carausius on the map. School children across the country have been studying Roman Britain for decades, but are never taught about Carausius our lost British emperor."

The discovery of the Roman coins follows last year's discovery of a hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins in central England. The so-called Staffordshire Hoard included more than 1,500 objects, mostly made from gold. The Portable Antiquities Scheme is a department of the British Museum which deals with treasure finds.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press.

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In this undated image made available Thursday July 8, 2010, from British Museum, showing a coin from the ruler Marcus Aurelius Carausius, among a hoard found by treasure hunter Dave Crisp in a field near Frome, England. Crisp found around 52,500 Roman coins dating from the third century AD, buried in a field, by Crisp using a metal detector in late April 2010. The hoard is valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), and includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, the Roman naval officer who seized power in 286 and proclaimed himself emperor of Britain and northern France until he was assassinated in 293.(AP Photo / British Museum, PA)




Two silver denarii of Britain's 'lost emperor' Carausius (AD286-93) coins are seen under a magnifying glass on display at the British Museum in London, Thursday, July 8, 2010. The Roman coins found in a hoard of about 52,500 in a large pot by a British treasure hunter Dave Crisp using a metal detector in a field in southwestern England, is one of the largest treasure hoards ever found in Britain. Crisp found the coins dating from the third century AD, and is valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, the Roman naval officer who seized power in 286 and proclaimed himself emperor of Britain and northern France, ruling until he was assassinated in 293. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

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In this undated image made available Thursday July 8, 2010, from British Museum, showing Sam Moorhead, from the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme, holding a coin from a selection found by treasure hunter Dave Crisp in a field near Frome, England. Crisp found a hoard of around 52,500 Roman coins dating from the third century AD, buried in a field using a metal detector in late April 2010. The hoard is valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), and includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who seized power in Britain and northern France in the late third century and proclaimed himself emperor. (AP Photo / Somerset County Council, PA)





In this undated photo made available Thursday July 8, 2010, from Britain's Somerset County Council, showing Alan Graham excavating a large pot of coins, which was found in a field near Frome, England, by treasure hunter Dave Crisp. The hoard of around 52,500 Roman coins dating from the third century AD was found buried in a field by Crisp using a metal detector in late April 2010. The hoard, which is valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), and includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who seized power in Britain and northern France in the late third century and proclaimed himself emperor. (AP Photo / Somerset County Council, PA)

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In this undated image made available Thursday July 8, 2010, from Somerset County Council, showing Dave Crisp helping to recover and catalogue coins under controlled conditions as they are removed at the site where Crisp found them in a pot, near Frome, England. Crisp found a hoard of around 52,500 Roman coins dating from the third century AD, buried in a field using a metal detector in late April 2010. The hoard is valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), and includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, the Roman naval officer who seized power in 286 and proclaimed himself emperor of Britain and northern France until he was assassinated in 293. (AP Photo / Somerset County Council, PA)




A staff member shows off four silver denarii of Britain's 'lost emperor' Carausius (AD286-93) as Roman coins are put on display at the British Museum in London, Thursday, July 8, 2010. About 52,500 Roman coins were found in a large pot by a British treasure hunter Dave Crisp using a metal detector in a field in southwest England, one of the largest treasure hoards ever found in Britain. Crisp found the coins dating from the third century AD, and is valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, the Roman naval officer who seized power in 286 and proclaimed himself emperor of Britain and northern France, ruling until he was assassinated in 293. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

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A staff member displays a coin of Tetricus I (AD271-4 ) on display at the British Museum in London, Thursday, July 8, 2010. About 52,500 Roman coins were found in a large pot by a British treasure hunter Dave Crisp using a metal detector in a field in southwest England, one of the largest treasure hoards ever found in Britain. Crisp found the coins dating from the third century AD, and is valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, the Roman naval officer who seized power in 286 and proclaimed himself emperor of Britain and northern France, ruling until he was assassinated in 293. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)




A staff member displays handfuls of coins of Tetricus I (AD271-4 ) on display at the British Museum in London, Thursday, July 8, 2010. About 52,500 Roman coins were found in a large pot by a British treasure hunter Dave Crisp using a metal detector in a field in southwest England, one of the largest treasure hoards ever found in Britain. Crisp found the coins dating from the third century AD, and is valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, the Roman naval officer who seized power in 286 and proclaimed himself emperor of Britain and northern France, ruling until he was assassinated in 293. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)




A staff member shows off one of the many coins of Britain's 'lost emperor' Carausius (AD286-93) on display at the British Museum in London, Thursday, July 8, 2010. The Roman coins found in a hoard of about 52,500 in a large pot by a British treasure hunter Dave Crisp using a metal detector in a field in southwestern England, is one of the largest treasure hoards ever found in Britain. Crisp found the coins dating from the third century AD, and is valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, the Roman naval officer who seized power in 286 and proclaimed himself emperor of Britain and northern France, ruling until he was assassinated in 293. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)