A railway project has opened an unexpected window into Roman Britain after archaeologists uncovered a rare coin and other artifacts dating back nearly 2,000 years.The discoveries, made in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom, were announced by East West Rail on July 1.Construction workers are currently restoring and building rail links between Oxford and Cambridge, and as part of that work, archaeologists are excavating trenches across southern England.'SIGNIFICANT' EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH EMERGES BENEATH FORMER FISH MARKET IN ANCIENT CITYOne of the discoveries was a coin dating back roughly 1,740 years.The artifact carries the name of Roman Emperor Carausius, a naval commander who was in charge of a Roman fleet based in the English Channel.Archaeologists working on a rail project uncovered Roman-era artifacts, including a coin linked to Emperor Carausius, during excavations in southern England.(East West Rail)Pictures released by East West Rail show the Roman coin appearing in excellent condition after spending centuries underground.Archaeologists expected to uncover ancient remains along the route, but there have been "a few surprises" that geophysical surveys did not initially detect, said Mike Court, historic environment lead at East West Rail.TREASURE HUNTERS RECOVER RARE SILVER BAR FROM LEGENDARY SHIPWRECK OFF FLORIDA KEYS"Geophysical survey doesn’t generally show finds, cremations or burials, so these are often unexpected when they appear in the trenches," Court told Fox News Digital."Despite being armed with all of that knowledge going into the trenching, it is still exciting when discoveries are made — and so far, after over 1,000 trenches, we are starting to get some really interesting results."Construction work between Oxford and Cambridge is giving archaeologists a rare opportunity to study centuries of buried history.
(East West Rail)Court said the coins were discovered alongside evidence of Roman settlement and farming activity, ra...