The UK National Lottery's Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded £372,500 to Bath and North East Somerset Council's Beau Street Hoard project. The money will be used to buy a stash or Roman coins to Display at the Roman Baths in Abbey Church Yard, Bath.
The cache of 17,577 Silver Roman coins—minted between 32BC and 270AD—was discovered in 2007. The money was unearthed in Beau Street, just 150 meters from the Baths, and was named accordingly.
The Beau Street Hoard is one of the largest hoards of Roman coins to be discovered to date and its historical importance makes it an obvious candidate for HLF funding because the fund is designed to assist projects that are important to the British heritage.
Archaeologists believe the stash was originally housed in animal skin pouches and hidden in a stone-lined hiding place beneath a Roman building.
The HLF provided the council with a £54,000 development grant in 2012 and the council was informed on Wednesday this week that their second funding request has also been approved.
The fresh funds will be combined with an additional £15,000 raised by public donations and should ensure the council can finally purchase the Beau Street Hoard.
Nerys Watts Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund South West is delighted that lottery funds are helping such a worthwhile project.
"The Beau Street Hoard is such an exciting discovery and this project will help everyone develop a better understanding of one of the most fascinating periods in the history of Bath," Watts said.
