A Metal Detectorist Exploring a Field in Germany Was Stunned to Discover a Massive Hoard of Roman Coins

An amateur archaeologist has unearthed one of the largest hoards of Roman silver coins ever found in Germany. The cache—which weighs nearly seven pounds—is made up of 934 silver denarii that were likely buried during the rule of Emperor Hadrian. The youngest coin was minted in 124 or 125 C.E., which falls in the middle of Hadrian’s 117 to 138 C.E. reign.

However, some are much older. One was minted in 148 B.C.E., during the era of the Roman Republic, while others date to between 69 and 96 C.E., when the Flavian emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian ruled the empire. Together, the coins span nearly 300 years of Roman history.

Oliver Riedl discovered the stash about a year ago near Wesseling, a small city on the Rhine River just south of Cologne, in western Germany. Riedl, who received a permit to use his metal detector in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, was exploring a field when his device alerted him to the presence of something underground. He started digging and was amazed to find one silver coin after another.

Still, his metal detector continued to go off. After discovering 15 coins, Riedl realized he’d likely stumbled upon something special and alerted the authorities. Experts with the LVR Office for the Preservation of Archaeological Monuments in the Rhineland visited the site and continued digging.

They, too, found numerous coins—so many that they decided to remove the entire block of earth and take it to the restoration workshop at the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn. Museum officials took X-rays of the soil block, then recovered all the coins. They also found pieces of a ceramic container and bits of straw, which suggest that the coins were originally buried in a straw-lined pot.

Over time, however, agricultural activity on the field destroyed the vessel and scattered the coins into the surrounding dirt. The cache is now on display at the museum. Officials say it’s the largest coin hoard from Emperor Hadrian’s rule ever found in Germany, and the fifth largest in the world from that period.