Roman Britain / Learning resources
Objects and inscriptions
Investigate a Roman hoard
Use groups of coins to distinguish a date of manufacture from a date and reason for burial.
Start here
Read the Yorkshire Museum account of Constantius and the hoards discussed there. A hoard is a group of objects found together; the circumstances of its discovery and recording matter alongside the individual coins.
Try the activity
- Choose one named hoard from the museum account. Record where it was found and the dates supplied by the source.
- List the rulers or images identified in the account. Distinguish what appears on the coins from the later explanation of the group.
- Draw a sequence showing coin manufacture, circulation, deposition and modern discovery. Leave unknown intervals open.
- Propose two possible explanations for burying valuables, then write what evidence would help distinguish them.
Discuss and check
- Does a coin’s issue date tell us the day it was buried?
- Why might old and newer coins appear together?
- Can a hoard alone prove that a battle or invasion happened nearby?
Review your work
Compare explanations without turning either into a recovered fact. The latest identifiable coin can help establish that burial occurred after it was made, but the size of the gap still needs evidence. Finish with a label that identifies one secure conclusion and one unresolved question about the group.
Sources and further reading
Romans in Britain · People · Places · Learning resources