Frome Hoard

[1] The Museum of Somerset in Taunton, using a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), acquired the hoard in 2011 for a value of £320,250.

[3] The hoard was discovered on 11 April 2010 while Crisp was metal detecting in a field near Frome where he had previously found late Roman silver coins.

[6] On 15 April, Crisp notified Katie Hinds, the Portable Antiquities Scheme Finds Liaison Officer for Wiltshire, that he had found the hoard of coins.

[8] The excavation, led by Graham and assisted by Hinds, Booth, Crisp and members of the landowner's family, was performed over three days, from 23 to 25 April.

[8][9][10][11][12][13] Graham initially excavated a 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) trench around the small hole that Crisp had dug, and identified the pit in which the pot had been deposited.

[16] Most Roman coin hoards are traditionally believed to have been buried by their owners for safe-keeping, with the intention of being eventually recovered,[17] but Sam Moorhead of the Portable Antiquities Scheme suggests that in this case the pot was so large and fragile that it could not have been easily recovered without breaking it, and so the hoard may represent communal votive offerings to the gods.

[20] The Art Fund itself provided an initial £40,250, while the British Museum donated 50p for each copy sold of its book on the hoard (see Further Reading, below).

[20] Ultimately, with the help of a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, including £105,000 for conservation work,[21] the Museum of Somerset in Taunton acquired the hoard in 2011.

Silver denarius of Carausius Adventus
Section drawing of the pot in situ, showing the pit in which the pot was placed, the smaller pot used to form a lid over the mouth of the larger pot, the organic matter and the small hole dug by Crisp.
The Frome Hoard at the Museum of Somerset
Reverse of a Carausius silver denarius from the Hoard, showing two clasped hands (symbolising the unity of the ruler and the army), alongside the abbreviation 'RSR'. This alludes to a line from Virgil 's Eclogues - Redeunt Saturnia Regna or "The Golden Ages have returned".
Dave Crisp at Frome Library on 22 July 2010, holding a tray of coins from his find