It was a treasure for archaeologists, finding 209 Roman coins dating from the 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries. But for the honest finder it was a less celebratory discovery. That was most likely a hungry badger, looking for food.
The northern Spanish region of Asturias, where the coins were found, suffered its heaviest snowfall in 50 years last winter, thanks to Storm Filomena. Due to this storm, local badgers had to search unusual places to find some food. For example, in rock crevices in the La Cuesta cave – wasn’t there a tasty worm, beetle or berry hidden there?
But no, they were copper and bronze coins that had been there for centuries. When the badger had pulled ninety of them out of the crack with his paw, he believed it—and went elsewhere to look for something to eat. Local resident Roberto García found the dug up coins and dug up more. He reported the treasure to archaeologists, who called it an “exceptional discovery” and the largest coin find in a Spanish cave ever. The pieces were made in what is today England, France, Greece and Turkey, among other places.
Lead archaeologist involved Alfonso Fanjul told CNN he believes refugees buried the coins in the cave in ancient times during tumultuous times that eventually led to the fall of the Roman Empire. Researchers suspect that even more money is hidden in the area and plan to look for it. The coins found are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Asturias.
And the tie? Hopefully it survived that harsh winter with a discovery of crunchy nuts or juicy worms.
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