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small hole in the old church gives archaeological treasures that help tell the complete story of the site 2000 years

The recent excavation of a couple of feet of silver coin Viking and Anglo tiny may not be the charm of the discovery of the last Plantagenet, but lifted the veil on one of the least known during long history of York Minister centuries, between the fall of the Roman Empire and the arrival of the Vikings in AD866

The room, the size of a 5p piece is a Sceat, minted in York. It is in good condition so that experts from the British Museum initially thought it was a fake Victorian. So good is his health that markings are legible Eadwine that identify the manufacturer, who also minted coins for cutting Northumbria. This shows that the state had sufficient York and wealth in the 9th century to support its own currency.

The room is so perfect that probably was never distributed, so archaeologists assume that accidentally fell almost immediately they hit, and the mint had to be very close to host this great medieval church , which was built on the previous base layers, some of them Roman.

excavation director, Ian Milsted said the currency was evidence of the wealth that may have prompted the Vikings. He said: "This mint, and wealth would have surrounded the city and funded Anglian and possibly the creation of the Viking town, perhaps attract the Vikings who stole the money, even when is burned famous library of Alcuin and then settled here and traded with the native white and even create famous Anglo-Scandinavian York communities. "

Feet archaeologists had to remove meters of concrete poured for sustained emergency in the 1960s, when one side of the cathedral was considered in danger of collapse. They were not sure to find something, but the man is covering centuries, broken, cut in many earlier periods of construction, brick is a small Roman coin that paid little square hole. Much of what has been found in the stuffing packed during construction Victorian

The work is part of a ? 20 million over five years, which should be completed in 2016, to redisplay and reinterpret the building. The crypt is scheduled to open to the public next year, with plenty of entertainment conclusions. The Dean of York, Vivienne Faull, said: "The underground chambers tell the story of 2,000 years of this site since Roman times to the present day, and it is wonderful that we are actually making new discoveries of add new ILS spare the story even when the attraction is being created. history of York Minster is really the history of New York. "

Milsted talk about their findings in the Cathedral on February 22. It is free for ticket holders paid regular admission, but you must book in advance.
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