Money under the ground

Data: Coin Hoards of the Roman Empire, University of Oxford · accessed 14 October 2026

What can a coin find tell us?

Roman coins reached places outside the province of Dacia. To understand how they got there, we need the archaeological context and details of the coins found together. A findspot alone cannot establish who lived there, what language they spoke or why the money was never recovered.

The 583 Oxford records include 463 hoards, 44 possible hoards, 68 single gold coins and eight groups of single finds. The last category covers coins found near one another that do not meet the criteria for a hoard. The inventory identifies each type of find and includes the four records without coordinates.

Where the coins were found

As you scroll, the map shows the finds discussed in the text. Select a point to open its record. Filled circles indicate findspot information rated good or excellent; open circles indicate poor or fair ratings, or no rating.

Oxford ratings

How well are the finds documented?

Oxford gives separate ratings for findspot information, archaeological context and coin documentation. Of the 583 records, 61 have findspot information rated good or excellent, and 61 receive those ratings for their archaeological context. In 421 records, the context is poorly documented. Ratings assess the information available in the catalogue and can be revised as new details emerge.

Ratings: poor · fair · good · excellent. Records without a rating are shown as unknown.

What the latest coin can date

The chart groups the dates of the latest coins into decades. Each record has a total weight of one, spread evenly across the years in its date range. The money could have been deposited later. The 26 records without a usable range are excluded from the chart.

• Up to 105
• 106–192
• 193–235
• 236–270
• 271–395
• 396–518
• Cross-period, incomplete or conflicting

The calculation follows Oxford’s visualisation method. Peaks may also reflect overlapping reign date ranges. On the map, you can choose when a find appears: a record dated 238–244 appears from 238 if you choose the start of the range, or from 244 if you choose the end.

All 583 records

Search for a place, county or Oxford number. Select a find’s name to see its dates, ratings and bibliography. The inventory includes records from every year, regardless of the year selected on the map.