The Shillington Hoard is a Roman

coin hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...

found in

Shillington, Bedfordshire Shillington is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. In the south of the parish the hamlet of Pegsdon includes the Pegsdon hills nature reserve and is a salient of the county into Hertfordshire. Since 1985 its administration ...

in 1998. It consisted of 127 gold ''

aurei The ''aureus'' ( ''aurei'', 'golden') was the main gold coin of ancient Rome from the 1st century BC to the early 4th century AD, when it was replaced by the ''solidus (coin), solidus''. This type of coin was sporadically issued during the Roman ...

'', the latest of which was from 79 AD. The coins were issued by

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

Galba Galba ( ; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was Roman emperor, ruling for 7 months from 8 June AD 68 to 15 January 69. He was the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors and assumed the throne follow ...

Otho Otho ( ; born Marcus Salvius Otho; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was Roman emperor, ruling for three months from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. A member of a noble Etruscan civilization, ...

Vitellius Aulus Vitellius ( ; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius became emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil wa ...

, and

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

. Metal detectorists Shane Pyper and Simon Leete discovered 123 ''aurei'' in October 1998. They also found a much smaller hoard of seven silver ''

denarii The ''denarius'' (; : ''dēnāriī'', ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the ''antoninianus''. It continued to be mi ...

'' a few metres away. In September 1999, Pyper and Leete found a further four ''aurei'' and eleven ''denarii'', making a total of 127 ''aurei'' and 18 ''denarii''. Ten of the ''denarii'' are Republican, and one was of

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

from 128 AD, so the relationship between the gold and silver hoards is uncertain. The coins appear to have been deposited without intention of recovery, perhaps as a

votive offering A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...

at a

Romano-Celtic temple A Romano-Celtic temple or is a sub-class of Roman temples which is found in the north-western Celtic provinces of the Roman Empire. It was the centre of worship in the Gallo-Roman religion. The architecture of Romano-Celtic temples differs from ...

. They are now on display at the

Wardown Park Museum Wardown House Museum and Gallery, formerly Wardown Park Museum and, before that, the Luton Museum & Art Gallery, in Luton, is housed in a large Victorian era, Victorian mansion in Wardown Park on the outskirts of the town centre. The museum col ...

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

References

{{Gold hoards 1998 in England 1998 archaeological discoveries Treasure troves in England Treasure troves of Roman Britain Archaeological sites in Bedfordshire Hoards from Roman Britain Coin hoards