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BBC News
15-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Downham Market coin hoard 'probably lost by a Roman invader'
A hoard of 13 silver coins found in a field was probably lost in the wake of the Roman invasion of Britain in AD43, according to a historian. The discovery was made by a metal detectorist in a field near Downham Market, Norfolk, in September and is the subject of a treasure inquest. The denarii date from the late 2nd Century BC, in the last tumultuous decades of the Roman republic, to the first Roman emperors and could have been a purse loss."Of course, we've no way of knowing whose it was, but it could have been lost by one of the invaders," said coin expert Adrian Marsden. The Roman Republic lasted from 509 to 27BC and a series of unrest and civil wars in the 1st Century BC marked its transition to an empire. "The oldest coin in the hoard dates back to 152BC and has worn smooth over the two centuries it was in use," said Dr Marsden, a numismatist from the Norfolk Historic Environment Service."This reveals they've got a stable economy, without changes to the denominations, so coins like this can remain in circulation for a long, long time."One of denarii was struck by the Roman dictator Sulla (138 to 79BC), who won the first full-scale civil war in Roman history."Another was struck by Julius Caesar [about 100 to 44BC] a couple of years before he was assassinated, a second by Mark Antony [83 to 30BC] and a third by his rival and winner of that civil war, the first Roman emperor Augustus [63BC to AD14]," said Dr Marsden. The most recent coin of the 13 came from the reign of Octavian's stepson, the second emperor Tiberius (AD14 to 37).It was the latter's nephew, the emperor Claudius (10BC to 54AD), who ordered the invasion of Britain in AD43, eventually leading to a Romano-British province which lasted until 5th Century. Dr Marsden described it as "one of the more interesting" hoards to cross his desk in the past year."It is earlier than most of the silver denarii hoards we see and it's got this drum roll of coins from the late republic through to the early empire," he said.A coroner decides if a discovery is treasure and a museum usually gets first refusal over whether to add it to its this case, the Lynn Museum in King's Lynn hopes to be able to acquire it. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
High Court halts Wretton houses sale over non-payment of levy
A court has put the sale of new houses on hold after a developer failed to make a cash contribution towards local infrastructure and Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council obtained the order over the non-payment of £118,00 of what is called Section 106 follows the construction of eight properties just outside the village of Wretton, near Downham company at the centre of the dispute, EAM Developments, has been approached for comment. The council said it had obtained an interim High Court order last month which was renewed on Friday. There will be a further hearing on 21 County Council is pursuing the same company over non-payment of money in relation to another development in the nearby village of documents show the conversion of an old mill was granted permission back in 2016.A spokesman for the county council said: "The funds due to Norfolk County Council to pay for local community infrastructure from the Whittington development remain unpaid, and efforts to recover these funds are ongoing." One of the properties at the centre of the Wretton court order is a four-bedroom detached house off Low Road which is on the market for £600, land is on the site of a former social Peter Clark and Emma Malvina Beaton from Weeting, on the Norfolk-Suffolk border, are listed as the people with significant control of EAM developments.A Companies House listing states that it was incorporated in 2014. Affordable housing Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is a legally binding agreement and usually involves a council and a ensures a contribution is made towards local infrastructure or services to make a development acceptable in planning to the House of Commons library, in 2022/23 almost half of all affordable homes built in England were at least partially funded through this the case of the amount owed to Norfolk County Council, it is understood the money was planned for schools and a library. Jim Moriarty, West Norfolk Council cabinet member for planning, said: "Section 106 agreements are put in place on certain developments where planning permission would not otherwise be granted."They are an important part of the contributions that developers make to mitigate the impact of their plans and support affordable housing."Indirectly, failure to pay Section 106 contributions impacts on local people and we, as the local planning authority, have a duty to pursue non-payment."He added: "We are continuing to work with Mr Clark to resolve this matter." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
