Monument record MDO18340 - Blandford and Webb, Grove Trading Estate, Dorchester; Roman coin hoard

A hoard of late 3rd century AD Roman coins was found during groundworks on a site in the northern part of the Grove Trading Estate, Poundbury, in November 1986. Very little information is available on this hoard.

A Roman coin hoard was discovered during the uprooting of a row of trees during rapid clearance of a site developed by Blandford and Webb in November 1986. The approximate location is described by Christopher Sparey Green (1). The location of the discovery was close to the area of Poundbury excavation Site C. A short note in Britannia recording the discovery of a hoard of c. 7000 late third-century radiates from Dorchester (2) probably refers to this site. The coins were deposited with the Dorset County Museum, but are being cleaned and studied at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. There are approximately 9000-10,000 coins in the hoard, which appears to have been deposited in the late AD280s or AD290s. The earliest coins are those of Herennia Etruscilla, minted under Trajan Decius (AD249-AD251) and Volusian, minted under Trebonianus Gallus (AD251-253). The latest coins are about 50 coins of Carausius (AD286-293) (3).

Record last edited

Nov 3 2006 10:04AM