Metal Detector Uncovers Ancient Roman Coin Hoard

A metal detectorist from Cheshire may have unearthed the largest Roman coin hoard ever found in Welsh history—and was so worried about losing it, he slept in his car with the loot for three nights. David Moss, 36, said he was left in disbelief after digging up two clay pots containing what he estimates to be 10,000 to 15,000 coins in a remote part of North Wales in August, per the BBC. The Independent reports the coins were buried in a "muddy field."

After six-and-a-half hours excavating the find with his friend Ian Nicholson, Moss alerted the landowner, stashed the coins in a plastic box, and drove home to Chester. Unwilling to let the trove out of his sight, Moss spent three nights camped out in his car before finally delivering the hoard to experts at National Museum Cardiff. The coins are now being analyzed, and experts believe the discovery could eclipse the current Welsh record—10,000 coins found near Chepstow in the 1990s. Anthony Halse, chair of the South Wales and Monmouthshire Numismatic Society, said the hoard might have belonged to Roman soldiers seeking to safeguard their wealth. If a museum wants to keep the treasure, the finder and landowner usually split the reward.