Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 17
East West Rail Dig Unearths 1,740-Year-Old Carausius Coin in England
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 17

East West Rail Dig Unearths 1,740-Year-Old Carausius Coin in England

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 17

Summary

  • A rare Roman coin about 1,740 years old, bearing Emperor Carausius's name, was uncovered during East West Rail excavations in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
  • The find came with evidence of Roman settlement and farming activity—pits, ditches and postholes—showing the coin was part of a broader inhabited landscape rather than an isolated object.
  • More than 1,000 trenches have already been excavated along the Oxford-Cambridge route, and archaeologists said some discoveries, including burials and cremations, were not detected by earlier geophysical surveys.
  • The route has produced remains spanning from the Iron Age through the Roman period, and with about 6,000 trenches planned, East West Rail expects more major sites over the next two years.

Insights

As 5,000 more trenches are dug, will Roman history delay Britain's high-tech railway future?
Why are ancient Roman settlements eluding modern surveys, and what other lost history might lie hidden beneath our feet?
A rare coin connects us to 'ordinary' Romans. What else do these finds reveal about their forgotten daily lives?