1,300 Pounds of Unique Ancient Roman Coins Dating 3rd century A.D. Unearthed in Spain

Construction workers in Southern Spain have unearthed 600 kilograms of Roman coins that date back to the third and fourth centuries AD.

The coins, according to FOX 8 were found in 19 amphoras, a type of Roman jug, in Tomares, a town in Seville province. Some of the jug were broken while others were sealed and intact.

Over half a tonne of ancient Roman coins found in Spain https://t.co/Y76OerJTQh #archaeology pic.twitter.com/FfgoH51w7P

— Irish Archaeology (@irarchaeology) April 29, 2016

In an interview with CNN affiliate, Lola Vallejo, Tomares urban councillor, said that a crew had been digging to install elctricity inside Zaudin Park.

"The machines hit against something that wasn't normal for this soil," Vallejo said. "The workers immediately stopped, and soon discovered that there were many coins there, inside broken amphoras."

Spanish Newspaper El Pais, meanwhile said the coins are stamped with the inscriptions of emperors Maximian and Constantine and they were probably used to pay taxes to the Roman Empire.

"The coins depict an emperor on one side and various Roman allegories on the back, including abundance. Researchers insisted that never before had so many homogeneous coins been found together," the report said.

In addition, the coins appeared not to have been in distribution as they show little evidence of scratches.
Quoting the Andalusian department of culture, the news site writes, "This treasure was "deliberately concealed underground and covered with a few bricks and ceramic filler."

In a news conference, Ana Navarro, head of Seville's Archeology Museum said the coins are unique finds. However she declined to give the economic value of the coins at present.

The coins have already been transferred from Tomare to the Archeology Museum of Seville.

"We have a team looking into the discovery right now, We believe it is hugely important and will have more information very soon," said a spokesman at Andalucia's Ministry of Culture in Seville told The Local on Thursday.

Meanwhile, digging pipelines has been suspended on the site as they plan to conduct an archaeological excavation.

The Romans conquered the Iberian Peninsula in 218 BC, ruling until the early 5th century when they were ousted by the Visigoths, News Discovery notes.