A veritable treasure comprised of coins that date back to ancient Roman times was made in Spain – thanks to a hungry animal’s search for food.
According to AFP, the trove, which contained some 209 coins dating to between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD, was discovered in April last year in La Cuesta cave in Bercio in the Asturias region, with the details of this find described in the Journal of Prehistory and Archaeology published last month.
The coins were supposedly dug up by a badger searching for food during a powerful snowstorm that hit Spain in January 2021.
"On the floor of the cave... in the sand likely dug up by badger at the entrance to its sett, we found the coins with more inside," the archaeologists wrote.
Most of the coins "originate from the north and eastern Mediterranean" and at least one coin came from London.
"The quantity of coins recovered, as well as the undoubted archaeological interest of the transition to the early medieval period, make the hoard discovered at Bercio an exceptional find," the archaeologists stated.