VIDEO: Iron Age coins found in Peak District go on display

A hoard of Late Iron Age coins found at a Peak District beauty spot are to go on display at Buxton Museum.
Dovedale bronze-age coin hoard is delivered to Buxton Museum for first public display. Derbyshire Museums manager Ros Westwood.Dovedale bronze-age coin hoard is delivered to Buxton Museum for first public display. Derbyshire Museums manager Ros Westwood.
Dovedale bronze-age coin hoard is delivered to Buxton Museum for first public display. Derbyshire Museums manager Ros Westwood.

The coins were found at Reynard’s Kitchen Cave in Dovedale, managed by the National Trust, and have since been undergoing conservation at the British Museum and University College London.

They will be displayed at the Terrace Road gallery from Saturday, alongside some other archaeological finds from Dovedale already on display.

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Cllr Ellie Wilcox, Derbyshire County Council deputy cabinet member for health and communities, said: “This spectacular hoard is an exciting addition to our museum collections.

Dovedale bronze-age coin hoard is delivered to Buxton Museum for first public display. Derbyshire Museums manager Ros Westwood.Dovedale bronze-age coin hoard is delivered to Buxton Museum for first public display. Derbyshire Museums manager Ros Westwood.
Dovedale bronze-age coin hoard is delivered to Buxton Museum for first public display. Derbyshire Museums manager Ros Westwood.

“There is very little Iron Age material in the collections and these spectactular gold and silver coins bring a new dimension.

“We believe 23 of the coins were probably owned by one person in around AD 50 which would have been a substantial amount of money then. The big question is why leave it in Reynard’s Kitchen Cave?”

The hoard includes a Roman brooch, three Roman coins which pre-date the invasion of Britain in AD 43 and 20 gold and silver coins from the first century AD attributed to the Corieltavi tribe. Two Roman and one medieval coin were also found which are believed to have probably fallen out of sightseers’ pockets.

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Little is known about the Corieltavi tribe except through its coinage and Dovedale is the furthest west that their range has been mapped. Its people were probably farmers living in small tribal groups and federally governed across Leicestershire and Lincolnshire around the time of the Roman conquest.

The story about how the coins were found by a local climber who had been sheltering in the cave during heavy rain was featured on BBC1’s Countryside programme in July.

“The collections at Buxton Museum are important for Dovedale,” added Cllr Wilcox. “The include archaeology and the complete geological record made in the 1920s by Dr J W Jackson. His photographs and research remain important evidence about this protected landscape.

“We’re delighted to be given the chance to host a wonderful exhibition and the arrangement of this loan continues the strong partnership between the museum and the National Trust.”

The museum is open Tuesday to Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm and Saturday from 9.30am to 5pm. Admission is free.