Archeologists Stumble Across a Strange Roman Artifact: “We Weren’t Expecting This Spectacular Discovery.”

Spain was experiencing an unusually long cold spell in early 2021 when a heavy snowstorm, the worst of the kind since 1971, wreaked further havoc. Yet, even in the terrible weather conditions in Asturias in the northern parts of the country, localite Roberto García stumbled upon something spectacular.

García was thrilled to find around 100 scattered coins but soon realized they weren’t modern currency; they were too old. He wondered if the heavy snowfall was responsible for his finding them strewn around on the ground near the entrance of the La Cuesta cave.

La Cuesta cave, located around 230 miles north of the capital city, Madrid, along river Nalón suddenly became the hotspot for the archaeologists. Yet, it took them several months to finally arrive at the site. A small group of researchers led by Alfonso Fanjul made a field trip to the cave in April.

Every archaeologist dreams of discovering something unique like this at least once in a lifetime. The team was overjoyed to realize that dream through the coins. So, where did these coins originate from? They were only too happy to find out the details.

The treasure has been buried for over 1,500 years, and aside from understanding where they came from, the archaeologists were curious about who buried the coins in the first place. What prompted them to hide their wealth? Fanjul had a vague idea about what had happened, and it mostly had to do with the events of the fifth century.

Before the warrior tribes made inroads into the Roman Empire and created chaos in the lives of the people, the Romans were experiencing peace and stability, basking in the golden age of Pax Romana. The period lasted four centuries, during which the empire prospered to great heights, with the population reaching 70 million.

The discovery of the hidden treasure led the archaeologists to conclude that it was directly related to the fall of the Roman Empire. It denoted that the Romans had experienced grave socio-political instability during that period.

After painstakingly piecing together the most reasonable explanation for people to bury their treasure, one burning question remained. In the modern day, who dug up the coins that were once buried safely by the ancient Romans? Why did someone stumble upon them now after all those years of staying underground?

The team had found around 90 coins right next to the ground where the badgers had dug up a hole, and they could easily connect the rest to solve the mystery. They also realized that if it were not for the hungry badgers, the archaeologists wouldn’t have found the coins then, or maybe never.

Thanks to the extraordinary contribution of the badgers, the country found an ancient Roman treasure. The expedition did not end there. Just south of the place near Berceo, the team found more ancient Roman relics from the same period.

The ancient sarcophagus had intricate carvings all over them that intrigued the experts. After thorough research, the archaeologists concluded that the artifact belonged to the sixth century, when the Germanic tribes had already established dominance over several parts of the Roman Empire.

Spain has long fascinated archaeologists and historians for its deep connection with the Roman Empire. The rise and fall of the historic empire can be mapped with the discovery of ancient artifacts from that era. In fact, the country’s southern regions hold the most cultural significance concerning ancient Rome.

The Northern regions of Spain managed to keep the Romans at bay for over 200 years until the Basques and Celts were defeated in 19 BC. Since then, the entire stretch of the country came entirely under Roman control. The Murcia region of present-day Spain was a crucial area of conquest for the Romans due to its infinite riches.

Murcia proved a great boon for the empire; it became a source of nourishment for the Romans due to its thriving agriculture. The grains cultivated in its wheat fields fed the entire Roman army. Even fish sauces and olive oils were produced in abundance in the region.

The abundant agricultural lands in Murcia offered the perfect setting for the Romans to build their villas everywhere. In ancient Rome, villas were typically referred to as buildings raised on cultivable land to provide adequate housing for laborers.

The Roman Empire’s ultimate disintegration greatly impacted Spain’s inhabitants. Even though the wealthy suffered massive losses, it changed how properties were used. While once the owners would only visit, they moved in permanently, making the villas more elaborate over time.

With the structural evidence they had from ancient times, historians believed Los Villaricos to be a great example of a Roman villa. The site was divided into a residential area and a working area replete with buildings used for storing and manufacturing products such as wine and olive oil.

The next phase happened from the late second century to the third century. Several places underwent drastic transformation; old ones were torn down and replaced with new ones with the current shape and structure. Among all the discoveries in the region, Los Villaricos find far exceeds others in terms of the highly preserved state in which the artifact was found.

The historians concluded that the final phase lined up with the total collapse of the Roman empire during the fifth century and the early sixth century. This was when the production in the great Los Villaricos site altogether ceased, even though people continued to reside in and around the place.

The broader group of people known as the Goths had two factions – one known as the Visigoths from the Western regions of Europe and the other called Ostrogoths from the Eastern parts. These tribes were pivotal in heralding the medieval history of Europe and were primarily responsible for the disintegration of the Roman Empire.

The Gothic tribes that once practiced paganism began converting to Christianity, which was unacceptable to the Romans. According to the natives, Gothic Christianity was essentially heretical, but by the seventh century, the Visigoths, in particular, adopted Catholicism and started building Catholic churches in the Iberian Peninsula. 

Rafael González Fernández, one of the archaeologists working on the site, exclaimed that they weren’t expecting such a spectacular discovery. So, when they initially came across the coffin, they mistook it for a regular old column. The beautifully engraved carvings alerted them of its value, and they concluded it to be a sarcophagus.

After establishing the origin of the ancient coffin, the archaeologists delved into the mystery that lay within. They were intrigued to find old bones belonging to more than one person inside the sarcophagus. Even though we’ll probably never know who the skeletal remains belonged to, the contents confirmed their theory that the Roman agricultural lands were transformed into Visigothic burial sites during that era.

Aside from the coffin, several other old bones have been uncovered by archaeologists at the Las Villaricos site since the 1990s. Unfortunately, the site has been tampered with and stolen from. Despite the missing pieces, one thing was evident to the experts.

The interest in Roman history hasn’t abated a bit, and discoveries such as the remarkable coffin have only reinforced the archeological power of the Las Villaricos site. Several archaeologists from different universities have participated in the excavations in the region, with their dedicated efforts resulting in some fantastic finds over the years.