Archaeologists say that thanks to the efforts of hungry badgers in their search for food, a treasure trove of about 200 Roman-era coins has been found in northwestern Spain.
The coins may have been hidden by people fleeing the barbarians
The coins, known as "a special discovery," were discovered in April 2021 in the Bercio Laquesta Cave in the Oviedo region, with details in a prehistoric and archaeological journal published last month by the Autonomous University of Madrid.
The coins were most likely the reason badger was looking for food during a huge snowstorm in January 2021.
The cave is located in the Asturias region of northwestern Spain
At the time, many creatures struggled to find berries, worms, or insects to eat, and this mammal found only a few inedible metal discs, which were later discovered by locals.
Archaeologists wrote after discovering 209 coins dating from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD: "On the ground of the cave ... In the sand that badgers may have dug out at the entrance of the cave, we found more coins inside. ”。
Most of these late Roman coins "originated in the northern and eastern Mediterranean", coming from Antioch, Constantinople, Thessaloniki, and later through Rome, Arles and Lyon in southern France, although at least one currency came from London.
The coins were most likely dug up by a badger while searching for food in a snowstorm
The number of coins recovered, and the undoubted archaeological interest in the transition to the early Middle Ages, made the cellar found in Besio a special discovery.
The coins were most likely shipped there in "political instability," the researchers say, particularly in connection with the 5th-century invasion of the Suez ( a Germanic people ) in the northwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula.