The accidental discovery of hundreds of antique Roman coins by Spain's badger population

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Coins from across the Roman Empire were found.

A new study suggests that a badger searching for food may have unearthed hundreds of Roman coins in a Spanish cave.

Several coins were found in April 2021 by archaeologists near Grado, northern Spain, at the entrance to a small cave. A European badger (Meles meles) from a nearby lair may have uncovered the coins after a big blizzard fell several feet of snow, making it more difficult for animals to locate food. The hungry badger may have entered the cave in search of food but instead discovered the coins.

Spanish news site El Pais reports that archaeologists found 209 coins dating back to the third and fifth century A.D after digging the cave. Later, these copper and bronze-based coins were struck all around the Roman Empire, including Constantinople (now Istanbul), Thessaloniki in Greece, and London. Further investigation confirmed this. The findings were published in the journal Notebooks of Prehistory and Archaeology of the Autonomous University of Madrid on Dec. 21, 2021, and can be accessed here.

According to archaeologists, this is the greatest Roman currency hoard ever discovered in a cave in northern Spain. They described it as an "outstanding discovery."

The Chapipi treasure, a collection of 14 Roman gold coins discovered in the same woods in the late 1930s, was also found there. According to the experts, locals may have buried their coins during political unrest to keep them secure. As of A.D. 430, when the Suebi (a group of Germanic people from modern-day Germany and the Czech Republic) invaded and pushed Romans out of Spain, a newly unearthed Grado collection contains the most current coin.

An archaeologist at the Autonomous University of Madrid said, "With caution, the accumulation of major artifacts could be regarded as a response to the violent fighting experienced in the border zone." Alfonso Fanjul Peraza is the principal researcher.

Newly discovered coins may be part of an enormous cache. Therefore the researchers are planning further excavations in the cave where they found them to look for more money and proof that the cave was once home to Roman refugees. What we're trying to figure out is whether or not it was a one-off hideout or whether there was a group of humans that lived there.

Reference : https://www.livescience.com/badger-uncovers-roman-coins-in-spain

Image source : https://pixabay.com/id/photos/gunung-gurun-pasir-lanskap-spanyol-4820681/

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