A Romanian treasure hunter has unearthed a trove of 2,000-year-old silver coins hidden in a forest, an archaeologist said.
Metal detector
The man found the 300 coins stored in a clay pot which was buried in a forest in northwest Romania with the help of a metal detector.
The man, Narcis Carțiș, told journalists he spends his free time searching for treasure and ancient artefacts.
“I am very diligent… I’ve covered about 50% of the forest already. These kinds of finds are a matter of luck…. It’s not possible to know where you’re going to find something. It’s all about having luck and being persistent,” he told Agerpres.
“When you hear the sound of the detector, you don’t know what you’ve found because all metal sounds the same, “ he told the agency.
“I was so happy when I saw what I’d found! It’s the third time I’ve discovered something valuable. The first time I shouted out loud. Another reason to be happy is that treasure hunters are allowed to keep 30-40% of the value of what they’ve discovered if they report it to a museum.
Forest
After digging up the clay pot in the Sângeru de Pădure forest, he reported the find to the Mureș County Museum.
The head of the museum’s Archaeology Department, Nicoleta Man, went to the site with a team of specialists.
“This is Roman treasure,” she said. “It was a common practice in those days to hide your wealth (particularly) if it had accumulated over a generation or several generations.”
Bronze
She said there were traces of bronze ,meaning there could also be bronze coins or artefacts.
She said that Mures county was rich in such finds, with discoveries of coins and jewelry in the area in recent years.
Roman tribes conquered parts of today’s Romania in the 2nd century AD where the Dacians lived. A Dacian fortress and a Roman settlement are believed to have been built in the area.
