Discovery of 2,000-year-old coin opens unexpected window into Ancient Rome

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.One 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.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.“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.”Court said the coins were discovered alongside evidence of Roman settlement and farming activity, rather than as isolated finds.“These sites comprise numerous features, such as pits, ditches, and postholes, cut into the natural ground,” he said.“The fills of these features may contain pottery, which help us date the features and the site.”The fills are “where we often find the coins through metal detecting,” he added.What makes the coin “particularly interesting,” Court said, is that it bears the name of Roman Emperor Carausius.That provides val...