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The eyes of a visiting archaeologist lit up when he was shown the 10 tiny, tarnished discs that had sat unnoticed in storage for two and a half years at a dig on a southern Japan island. He had been to archaeological sites in Italy and Egypt, and recognized the “little round things” as old coins, including a few likely dating to the Roman Empire. “I was so excited I almost forgot what I was there for, and the coins were all we talked about,” said Toshio Tsukamoto of the Gangoji Institute for Research of Cultural Property in Nara, an...

Construction workers unearth over half a tonne of Roman coins in Spain Workers laying pipes in a park in Seville have unearthed a 600-kilogram trove of Roman coins in what culture officials say is a unique historic discovery.

Last Updated: Thursday, 11 March, 2004, 11:45 GMT Roman treasure found in pond dig The coins are thought to date from the 4th century A man unearthed a priceless hoard of 20,000 Roman coins as he dug a new fishpond in his back garden. Experts say the money may date from the 4th Century and could be the biggest find of its kind in Britain. The coins were crammed into a ceramic pot which broke up as it was dug out of the ground at Thornbury, Gloucestershire. Now a coroner must decide if Ken Allen, who made the discovery, can...