Scottish Silver coin hoard - Battle of Roslin

In 2019 two metal detectorists discovered 200 coins underneath a tree at the site of the Battle of Roslin, an epic battle during the First War of Scottish Independence on 24 February 1303.

Outnumbered Scottish forces decimated their English enemies. It's believed that of the 30,000 English soldiers who entered the battlefield, only a few thousand survived. The coins resemble those of English monarch King Edward I, whose reign lasted from 1271 to 1307.

The Battle of Roslin was a series of 3 engagements, where a force of 8,000 Scots defeated the much larger English army. Led by Scots John Comyn and Sir Simon Fraser of Oliver and Neidpath, they ambushed and annilated the English army under Lord John Segrave.

Experts speculate the hoard was payment for mercenaries who took part in the battle. Those hiring mercenaries wouldn't have wanted to pay out before the battle - it's much cheaper to pay those who survived.