Usually discoveries of ancient artifacts come from archaeologists. In this case, a badger decided to take up the profession in Spain and found a trove of ancient Roman coins! Here's the story from LiveScience.
Hungry badger accide
ntally unearths hundreds of ancient Roman coins in Spain
By Harry Baker LIVE SCIENCE Jan 11, 2022
The coins came from multiple locations across the Roman Empire.
A hungry badger searching for food seems to have uncovered what turned out to be hundreds of Roman coins in a Spanish cave, according to a new study.
Archaeologists first discovered several coins laying on the ground at the entrance to a small cave in the woodlands outside Grado in northern Spain in April 2021. The researchers suspect that the coins were unearthed by a European badger (Meles meles) from a nearby den after a heavy storm dumped several feet of snow on the ground, making it harder for animals to find food. The hungry badger probably ventured into the cave looking for something to eat but came across the coins instead.
PHOTOS OF THE CAVE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10386551/Badger-uncovers-200-Roman-coins-Spanish-cave.html
After fully excavating the cave, researchers collected 209 coins dating to between the third and fifth centuries A.D., according to Spanish news site El Pais. Further analysis revealed the coins, which were mostly made from copper and bronze, had been minted at various locations across the Roman Empire including Constantinople (now Istanbul), Thessaloniki in Greece and London. The team published their findings Dec. 21, 2021, in the journal Notebooks of Prehistory and Archeology of the Autonomous University of Madrid.
To date, this is the largest treasure trove of Roman coins found in a cave in northern Spain,” the researchers wrote in their paper. They described the discovery as an “exceptional find.”
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