Front Street, Roman hoard

The Dinnington Hoard, which was found when a pond was being dug in a private garden. The Hoard consists of one aureus of Vitellius (AD 69) and six silver denarii dating from 32-31 BC to AD 81-96. The aureus is in remarkably good condition. No trace was found of a container and this suggests the coins were in a leather or cloth bag. The date of the coins implies that the Hoard was dropped or deposited around the time of the Agricolan advance into Scotland. Dinnington lies in a direct line north from the ford crossing the River Tyne near the Hadrianic fort of Benwell. This was the first safe crossing place of the river before the Roman bridge (Pons Aelius) was built at Newcastle upon Tyne and it is presumed that this ford was used during Agricola’s sorties north. The gold aureus is a rare issue. Vitellius was emperor for only eight months and, unusually, the coin depicts Vitellius’s children on the reverse. Gold coins of Roman date are very rare finds in the Military Zone . They were also used to pay bonuses to soldiers on the accession of a new emperor, in this case possibly the accession of Domitian.

Aureus:
Vitellius, AD 69
obv. A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P rev. LIBER[I] IMP GERMAN (Confronting, bare headed busts of Vitellius' children) Diameter: 20.32mm, Thickness: 2.08mm, Weight: 7.1g.

Denarii:
Antony, 32-31 BC
obv. [ANT AVG III VIR R P C] ship rev. Illegible (eagle & standards) 2. Diameter: 18.03mm, Thickness: 1.66mm, Weight: 3.2g.

Vespasian, AD 69-79
obv. IMP CAES VESP AVG P M rev. TRI POT (Vesta, seated l., holding simpulum) Diameter: 18.88mm, Thickness: 2.04mm, Weight: 2.4g.

Obv. [IMP CAESAR] VESPASIANVS AVG Rev. [PON MAX] TRP COS V (Winged Caduceus) Diameter: 17.72mm, Thickness: 2.15mm, Weight: 2.7g.

Third coin inscription not recorded/readable. Diameter: 18.34mm, Thickness: 2.00mm, Weight: 2.7g.

Uncertain Flavian, AD 69-81 1
obv. Illegible (head of Vespasian or Titus) Rev. illegibe. Diameter: 19.52mm, Thickness: 1.78mm, Weight: 3.0g.

Domitian, AD 81-96 1
obv. IMP CAES DOM[IT AVG GE]RM P M TRP XIII Rev. [IMP XXII COS]XVI CENS P P P (Minerva fighting r.) Diameter: 18.36mm, Thickness: 1.82mm, Weight: 2.0g.

The age and precious metal content of this item therefore qualify it as treasure under the stipulations of the Treasure Act 1996.
Treasure case tracking number: 2016T253