A metal detectorist unearthed a huge haul of 1,500 Roman coins in a field.
Bebe Mangeac went out with his metal detector and ended up finding hundreds of the silver pieces.
The 43-year-old visited a hilly area with sparse vegetation and soft soil.
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To the untrained eye, the terrain seemed rather mundane, but Bebe felt it had a mystery that called to him.
He had his trusted metal detector with him, a model he described as “average and neither cheap nor top end.”
“I do it for exercise, for the outdoors, and you never know, I might find something interesting,” Bebe told What’s The Jam.
His equipment then detected something under the surface, apparently not too deep.
Bebe started digging on the hilltop in the village of Letca Veche, south west of Bucharest, Romania, situated on the border with Bulgaria.
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He thought to himself, “This could be something really good.”
With firm but careful movements, he began to push aside the topsoil.
What followed made his heart beat even faster: the first coins began to appear.
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They seemed to be silver with traces of oxidation, but clearly defined.
Then he found ceramic shards that came from a storage vessel, possibly an amphora or a dolium.
Bebe added: “My hands were shaking.
“The coins kept coming out.
“I didn’t want to leave any behind.
“When you realise you’ve made a hard-earned discovery, part of you wants to celebrate.
“The other, more instinctive part tells you to hurry up.
“Every minute of light was important, especially since the size of the monetary treasure was enormous.”
Along with the ceramic fragments, he ended up unearthing 1,469 silver Denarius coins that were hidden in the ground around 1,700 years ago.
Bebe said: “I didn’t count them all there and then, but it felt like there were a lot.
“I mean, a lot.”
He came across the impressive haul on Saturday (19 Apr).
In Romania, citizens have a 72-hour period to hold onto artefacts of historical significance before surrendering them to the relevant authorities.
If the haul is classified as treasure, a reward of 45% of its value is offered to the finder, while a standard find receives a 30% reward.
Bebe said: “At home, my family and I felt a combination of joy and worry.
“I had over 1,000 silver coins. And the biggest worry was that Easter was coming up, and I had to respect the 72-hour deadline imposed by law.
“Fortunately, the holidays ended on time, so I took them down to Letca Town Hall on Tuesday.”
The police took part in the handover and carefully took note of the coordinates of the discovery site.
The area will be declared an archaeological site, and experts will carry out their investigations over the coming months.
The coins were all made of silver and came from different periods, some depicted Emperor Trajan, while others had elephants, a popular symbol in Roman iconography.
They appeared to be part of a collection that was accumulated over time.
The value of the haul has yet to be calculated.
The artefacts are currently in the hands of the County Directorate for Culture.
It is believed that they will eventually be displayed at the Teohari Antonescu County Museum in Giurgiu.
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