Thu Jul 8, 8:54 AM ET

LONDON – A treasure hunter has found about 52,500 Roman coins, one of the largest such discoveries ever in Britain, officials said Thursday.

The hoard, which was valued at 3.3 million pounds ($5 million), includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who seized power in Britain and northern France in the late third century and proclaimed himself emperor.

Dave Crisp, a treasure hunter using a metal detector, located the coins in April in a field in southwestern England, according to the Somerset County Council and the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

The coins were buried in a large jar about a foot (30 centimeters) deep and weighed about 160 kilograms (350 pounds) in all.

Crisp said a "funny signal" from his metal detector prompted him to start digging.

"I put my hand in, pulled out a bit of clay and there was a little radial, a little bronze Roman coin — very, very small, about the size of my fingernail," Crisp said in an interview with the BBC.

He recovered about 20 coins before discovering that they were in a pot, and realized he needed expert help.

"Because Mr. Crisp resisted the temptation to dig up the coins it has allowed archaeologists from Somerset County Council to carefully excavate the pot and its contents, ensuring important evidence about the circumstances of its burial was preserved," said Anna Booth, of Somerset Council.

Somerset Coroner Tony Williams scheduled an inquest Thursday to formally determine whether the find is subject to the Treasure Act, a formal step toward determining a price to be paid by any institution which wishes to acquire the hoard.

The hoard is one of the largest ever found in Britain, and will reveal more about the nation's history in the third century, said Roger Bland, of the British Museum. The find includes more than 760 coins from the reign of Carausius, the Roman naval officer who seized power in 286 and ruled until he was assassinated in 293.

"The late third century A.D. was a time when Britain suffered barbarian invasions, economic crises and civil wars," Bland said.

"Roman rule was finally stabilized when the Emperor Diocletian formed a coalition with the Emperor Maximian, which lasted 20 years. This defeated the separatist regime which had been established in Britain by Carausius.

"This find presents us with an opportunity to put Carausius on the map. School children across the country have been studying Roman Britain for decades, but are never taught about Carausius our lost British emperor."

The discovery of the Roman coins follows last year's discovery of a hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins in central England. The so-called Staffordshire Hoard included more than 1,500 objects, mostly made from gold.

The Portable Antiquities Scheme is a department of the British Museum which deals with treasure finds.

The coins are laid out on a table to be sorted. One of the most important aspects of the hoard is that it contains a large group of coins of Carausius, who ruled Britain independently from AD 286 to AD 293

A treasure hunter armed with a metal detector has found 52,500 Roman coins, one of the largest finds of Roman coins in Britain.

The hoard dates from the third century AD and was found buried in a field near Frome in Somerset.

The coins were in a huge jar just over a foot below the surface and were located by Dave Crisp, 63, from Devizes in Wiltshire.

Archaeologists believe the hoard, which sheds light on the economic crisis and coalition government in the 3rd century under Emperor Carausius, will rewrite the history books.

Hands covered in mud, Dave Crisp crouches down (left) in the field where he made the find. And, right, he examines one of the 52,500 coins, dating to the 3rd century AD, he found

Slowly but surely the pot of coins emerges from the field near Frome, in Somerset

The pot was filled to the brim with 3rd century Roman coins, making the find one of the biggest ever in Britain

He told how his detector gave a 'funny signal', prompting him to dig down through the soil.

'I put my hand in, pulled out a bit of clay and there was a little Radial, a little bronze Roman coin,' Mr Crisp told the BBC.

SO JUST WHO WAS EMPEROR CARAUSIUS?

Hundreds of the coins discovered bear the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius (pictured below) who seized power in Britain and northern France in the late third century and proclaimed himself emperor.

The Roman naval officer seized power in 286 and ruled until he was assassinated by his finance minister in 293.

He came to prominence after distinguishing himself in a war against rebels in France. With his naval background he was put in charge of a fleet whose aim was to destroy the pirates raiding the coasts of northern France and Belgian. It was after he was accused of keeping some of the seized treasure for himself that he declared himself emperor.

Roger Bland, of the British Museum, said: 'The late third century A.D. was a time when Britain suffered barbarian invasions, economic crises and civil wars.

'Roman rule was finally stabilized when the Emperor Diocletian formed a coalition with the Emperor Maximian, which lasted 20 years. This defeated the separatist regime which had been established in Britain by Carausius.

'This find presents us with an opportunity to put Carausius on the map. School children across the country have been studying Roman Britain for decades, but are never taught about Carausius our lost British emperor.'

'Very, very small, about the size of my fingernail.'

He added: 'I have made many finds over the years, but this is my first major coin hoard.'

It is thought the £250,000 find - known as the Frome Haul - represents the biggest single haul ever unearthed in Britain.

The hoard is one of the largest ever found in Britain, and will reveal more about the nation's history in the third century, said Roger Bland, of the British Museum.

One of the most important aspects of the hoard is that it contains a large group of coins of Carausius, who ruled Britain independently from AD 286 to AD 293 and was the first Roman emperor to strike coins in Britain. 

The hoard contains over 760 of his coins, making it the largest group of his coins ever found.

It is estimated the coins were worth about four years' pay for a legionary soldier.

Experts do not think that this stash of coins was placed there and intended to be recovered later by a solitary individual.

Because of the weight of the coins - around 350lbs, British Museum experts say the pot was buried in the ground before the coins were tipped in - and may have been an offering from a farming community for a good harvest or favourable weather.

Sam Moorhead from the Portable Antiquities Scheme said: 'I think what you could see is a community of people who are actually making offerings and they are each pouring in their own contribution to a communal ritual votive offering to the gods.'

Married hospital chef Mr Crisp started metal detecting 'seriously' in 1988 and has spent at least one day a week searching fields around Somerset and Wiltshire since.

Mr Crisp said: 'I have been metal detecting since 1988 and this hoard is the most exciting and important find that I have ever made.'

During that time he has found coins, artifacts and jewellery spanning a range of eras including Celtic, Georgian, Saxon and Victorian.

He approached a farmer, who wants to be known only as Geoff, near Frome, Somerset last April to asked if he could search his field.

And after two hours of meticulously scouring the land, he struck gold.

'The joy of metal detecting is that you never know what you will find,; Mr Crisp added.

'I always live in hope but didn't expect to find something like this. It's by far the most significant thing I've found yet.' 

He left the haul untouched and immediately contacted the finds liaison officer at Somerset Count Council, who hired a team of archaeologists to analyse the find.

The 18in pot, buried in the field, was packed with coins and weighed around 25 stone

Mr Crisp, who is secretary of the Trowbridge Metal Detecting Club, said: 'Leaving it in the ground for the archaeologists to excavate was a very hard decision to take, but as it had been there for 1,800 years, I thought a few days more would not hurt.

The find was in a field near the town of Frome in Somerset

'My family thought I was mad to walk away and leave it.'

Since the discovery in late April experts from the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) at the British Museum have been sifting through the coins.

The coins were all contained in a single clay pot., which although it only measured 18 inches across, would have weighed an estimated 25 stone.

The discovery of the Roman coins follows last year's discovery of a hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins in central England.

The so-called Staffordshire Hoard included more than 1,500 objects, mostly made from gold.

'Because Mr Crisp resisted the temptation to dig up the coins, it has allowed archaeologists from Somerset County Council to carefully excavate the pot and its contents,' said Anna Booth, local finds liaison officer.

A selection from the find is on display at the British Museum until mid-August.

The story of the excavation will be told in a new BBC Two series, Digging for Britain, which will be broadcast next month.

Treasure hunter Dave Crisp, centre in purple T shirt, oversees the dig in the field in Frome

A graphic shows how he pot was buried beneath the surface and, inset, the different layers of coins that were discovered

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