Bredon Hill Hoard inquest

Published: 12 years ago Author: Richard Henry

The inquest into the Bredon Hill hoard was held today (November 16) at Worcestershire Coronor's Court, where HM Deputy Coronor, Marguerite Elcock officially declared the local find of 3, 874 roman coins to be 'treasure'.

At the hearing were both of the Redditch metal detector enthusiasts, Jethro Carpenter and Mark Gilmore who made the find in June this year. Mr Carpenter gave evidence describing the events that led to the discovery.

He described the 'heart thumping' moments when he realised he had found more than just a rusty nail.

Jethro Carpenter said:

"The signal improved and I carried on digging about 12 inches down and found some pieces of pottery and saw one coin sticking out of the surface, there were three coins stuck together and I said "it's a hoard". I removed some more soil and saw coins everywhere."

Also giving evidence to the Coroner was Finds Liaison Officer, Richard Henry, who confirmed the hoard dates from between 244 AD and 282 AD. A turbulent period in the 3rd Century demonstrated by the 16 different Roman Emperors depicted on the 3874 Roman coins.

Richard Henry, Finds Liaison Officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme said:

"This is definitely the largest discovery of coins found in Worcestershire. We are grateful to Jethro and Mark for telling us about the hoard as soon as they could. The hoard is really exciting news for Worcestershire and we hope further investigations of the site will give us a better insight into this time period in county."

The hoard is currently on display at the Worcestershire Museum and Art Gallery and residents have until November 26 to go along and take a look for themselves. After that the coins which have been borrowed for exhibition will be returned to the British Museum

Following the result of today's inquest, the case will be seen by the Treasure Valuation Committee, who recommends a value to the Secretary of State, likely to be in March 2012.

There follows a short period where finders, landowner and the museum can query valuation.

Once the recommended value is agreed, or the Secretary of State has made a determination, the Local Authority will have four months to raise the funds.

Contact: Richard Henry 01905 721130