Roman coin hoard buried in Wootton Fields, Northampton.
An estimated 1,900 coins corroded together in a lump, were discovered within the fragments of the black pot and shelly bowl they were buried in. The hoard was found in 1999 during groundworks for a new housing development at Wootton Fields, Northampton, on the site of a previously unknown Roman Villa.
A hoard is a collection of objects deliberately buried in the ground. They can vary in size and content and most hoards were buried with the intention of retrieving them later. Maybe this hoard was hidden for safekeeping, but the hoarder died before recovering it or they may have simply forgotten where it was buried!
The Romans came to Britain in 43 CE and introduced standardised Roman currency into the areas they conquered, fundamentally changing the local economy. Previously, the Celts had used their own coinage as a form of currency, though bartering and exchanging goods was more common. The Roman conquest of Celtic territories and the control over trade routes and resources led to the decline of Celtic trade and commerce.
Number 25 of the objects selected for the A History of Northamptonshire in 100 Objects exhibition 2025.
This astonishingly well preserved example of a chatelaine (collection of personal grooming objects), is a high-status object made to be seen as much as used.
This is a rare type of medieval ceramic roof tile, replaced in the 13th century by standard rectangular ceramic or nib tiles used until the 20th century. The rarity of these roof tiles and their association with buildings of high status in Northampton, both religious and secular, is of historical and archaeological significance.
© NMAG
©
NMAG
©
NMAG
©
Andy Chapman
©
The Trustees of the British Museum