Hidden in a Coin Hoard

Archaeologists separating the contents of the largest known Celtic coin hoard have uncovered a number of gold items mixed in with the coins. The hoard, which was found on Jersey in the British Channel Islands, consists of 70,000 coins estimated to weigh a half ton in all. The researchers have so far removed a shoebox-sized portion of the hoard, revealing one complete gold torque and parts of six others.

The hoard is thought to date to around 50 B.C., when the Romans, led by Julius Caesar, were advancing north through France conquering Celtic tribes as they went. “We think they were trying to get their wealth out of the way,” says Neil Mahrer, a museum conservator with Jersey Heritage, “presumably with the idea of coming back for it later.”