The Didcot Hoard

The Didcot hoard was found by metal detectorist Bill Darley in 1995, near the Oxfordshire town of Didcot. It consists of 126 aurei. The aureus was the standard gold denomination of the Roman Empire and was valued at 25 silver denarii. Though the aureus was the same size as the denarius, the increased density of gold gave it twice the weight, usually between 7-8 grams in the first century. The aureus is known for its purity, nearly 24-carat gold. The incrediblely rare hoard represented a massive sum. A Roman legionary of the time earned about 300 denarii per year (from the time of Domitian). The hoard was equivalent to 10.5 years salary. The coins date from AD 54 to 161. The first coins were issued under Claudius while the latest coin in the hoard dates to the final year of the reign of Antoninus Pius. The Didcot Hoard dates from a relatively stable period in Roman history. Represented are the Flavian dynasty Vespasian and his two sons Titus and Domitian, as well as a span of the 'Good Emperors', Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. It has been proposed that the hoard could have been a donative on the accession of the new emperor, Marcus Aurelius. It was tradition for new emperors to inaugurate their reign with generous gifts to high ranking officials and miltary officers. It will never be known who buried the gold in rural Oxfordshire or why.

Claudius ruled from AD 41 to 54. He had a limp and slight deafness. This likely saved him from the purges of Tiberius and Caligula. Antoninus Pius ruled from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the 'Five Good Emperors'.

People have been living in Didcot for about 9,000 years - since the end of the last ice age. A significant find was a rare Neolithic bowl from about 3,600 BC - when people began to farm. It was found upside down in a hole where a tree had stood and may have been an offering to the gods. Roman burials revealed pots.