Archaeologists in the United Kingdom recently unearthed 1,000-year-old treasure in an unusual location: a construction site for a nuclear power plant.
Oxford Cotswold Archaeology (OCA) announced the discovery, which consists of 321 silver coins, in a press release on Jan. 7. The coins were found at the Sizewell C nuclear power station site in Suffolk, England.
The coins were issued between 1036 and 1044, the organization said — predating the Magna Carta by nearly 200 years, and the Battle of Hastings by a few decades. They were found in “mint condition” in a lead and cloth package, in a bundle that researchers have compared to a Cornish pasty.
“The hoard was found at the junction of two early medieval field boundary ditches, a location which hints at deliberate concealment,” the organization described. “The coins were carefully placed inside a textile object, possibly a purse, and then wrapped tightly in lead sheeting.”
METAL DETECTORISTS STUMBLE ACROSS 1200-YEAR-OLD TREASURE, UNUSUAL CHRISTIAN ARTIFACT …