Vincent Drost & Richard Abdy

110 silver denarii to AD 236 BM ref.: 2014 T151

PAS ref.: SWYOR-810366

Circumstances of discovery

A scatter of 9 silver Roman denarii were metal detected in "Riddlesden" (exact findspot withheld), March 2014 (finder name withheld). The finds were promptly reported to the local Finds Liaison Officer, Amy Downes. Excavations were then carried out in the field by the members of the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service on 24/03/2014 and 08/04/2014 to investigate the origin of finds. Excavation on the 24/03/2014 of two trenches within the field where the coins were discovered revealed no cut features, however, more coins were recovered. Metal detecting/shovel testing in the area around the two trenches revealed more coins, however, given the limited time available to conduct the investigation these additional findspots could not be excavated archaeologically. Excavation on the 08/04/2014 revealed a field drain in a sondage cut through the ploughsoil in trench 1, with two additional trenches (trenches 3 and 4) producing more coins but no features.

In total, 110 coins have been recovered from the field to date.

The coins

Those coins might possibly be remnants of the Bingley (Elam) Hoard (ROBERTSON 2000, p. 95-6, no. 434) reported from the same general area. That hoard, discovered in 1775, consists of "many hundreds" denarii (possibly a few radiates) from Nero (AD 54-68) to Pupienus (AD 238) buried in a copper alloy box or chest. It is possible that some of the coins are held by Leeds Museum Service.

The "Riddlesden" Hoard has a very similar composition. It's made of denarii only, ranging from the reign of Vespasian (AD 77/8) to the first half of the reign of Maximinus I (AD 235/6). Hoards ending in the years AD 235-8 are quite uncommon. Only four are recorded in Britain. Interestingly, all four were found in Yorkshire (Riddlesden in West Yorkshire, Kirkham in North Yorkshire, Darfield and Cadeby in South Yorkshire). The chronological structure of the Riddlesden Hoard is very similar to that of the Darfield 1947 Hoard (Table 1). Denarii preceding Severus's debasement of 194 represents one-third. Half of the coins were struck during the reigns of Septimius Severus and Caracalla. The scarcity of the coins of Elagabalus and Severus Alexander could be due to the slow penetration in Britannia of the newly-minted coins.

Table 1 - General composition of the Riddlesden and of the Darfield Hoards

The catalogue is available from the British Museum, the Portable Antiquities Scheme, the Treasure Team or the local FLO.