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Take the Roman Britain coin, known as a radiate, found in Headbourne Worthy, Hampshire. "On the face of it, it looks a grotty old coin, which it is, I guess," said Lewis. But it helps tell the story of Carausius who declared himself emperor of Britain and northern Gaul between AD286-93, breaking away from the Roman empire. He was assassinated by his treasurer Allectus. The newly found coin is just one from an astonishing variety of nearly 4,000 which were struck during Carausius' reign. Other finds include a pure gold arm ring weighing 300g and dating from the eighth century...

BORIS Johnson has appeared to have achieved the impossible by taking back Labour heartlands as early general elections polls today revealed voting intentions for the north west of England have shifted to Tory paving the way for a landslide win thanks to support from the south and the Midlands. Pollster YouGov showed Labour support is collapsing in the north, with prominent industrial counties - some of which that have voted Labour for decades - Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside now jumping ship to Tory in a spectacular show of support for the Brexiteer Prime Minister. The poll shows...

A group of climbers had to be rescued from the top of a mountain after getting so stoned they couldn’t get back down. The four walkers got stuck on top of the 3,209ft Scafell Pike in Cumbria’s Lake District – the highest peak in England. After successfully reaching the top, however, they found themselves ‘incapacitated’ from having taken cannabis. Cumbria Police confirmed that mountain rescue and air ambulances had to be scrambled in order to rescue the climbers. ‘Persons stuck on mountain after taking cannabis. Now having to deploy mountain rescue, air support and ambulance to rescue them,’ Cumbria Police...

A STONE circle has been restored to its former glory after “going missing” for over 200 years. The circle was discovered in a meadow at Wilton, near Egremont by landowners Philip and Lyndsey Johnson. And according to Dr Terence Meaden, a research archaeologist from Oxford University, the stones could be over 4,000 years old. The formation was unearthed when the Johnsons began researching the history of their house. They came across an 18th century map with a drawing of the old stone circle in a field close to their home. It was marked “Druids Temple”. Further investigation showed the stones...

Treasure trove: Darren Webster uncovered a 1,000-year-old casket containing 200 pieces of silver jewellery, coins, hacksilver and ingots while using his metal detector in Cumbria... Brian Randall, chairman of the Lune Valley Metal Detecting Club, said: 'We are all thrilled for Darren and wish it was us. 'No one goes out looking for hoards but it's very nice if you do find one.' ...Oxford University anthropology lecturer, Stephen Oppenheimer, said big hoards such as this paint a new picture of what Vikings were doing in England... Local archaeologist Steve Dickinson, of Ulverston, said the hoard was 'extremely important nationally'. He...

Roman souvenir of wall found The bronze pan has the names of Roman forts on it A unique Roman "souvenir" of the building of Hadrian's Wall has been discovered. The bronze pan, dating from the second century AD, when the Romans built the dividing wall across the north of England, was found in the Staffordshire moorlands. Archaeologists are excited because the names of four forts located at the western end of Hadrian's Wall - Bowes, Drumburgh, Stanwix and Castlesteads - are engraved on the vessel. The discovery was being made public at the Institute of Archaeology in London by the...

Everyone who lived at the Roman fort at Brougham, Cumbria, was buried in a cemetery close by. Excavation of the graves revealed an astonishing world of pagan beliefs. Hilary Cool explainsSome sites are dug before their time. Such was the case with the cemetery at Brougham in Cumbria. Brougham was long ago identified with Brocavum, a place noted in the 3rd century AD road book known as the Antonine Itinerary. Antiquarian reports had recorded Roman tombstones from the area east of the fort and vicus, an attached civilian settlement, alongside the trans-Pennine road. So excavations were planned when it was...

Replica of Roman murder victim The skull had a wound caused by a weapon The face of a man murdered 1,700 years ago in Cumbria has been reconstructed for a museum exhibition. The skull, which had a hole caused by a weapon, was discovered during building work at The Lanes shopping centre, in Carlisle. The city's Tullie House museum was awarded funding from the Local Heritage Initiative to reconstruct his face and it goes on display on Wednesday. Staff will tell the man's story as part of a Roman death in Cumbria exhibition. Exhibition curator Tim Padley said: "The poor...

Archaeologists are to explore the remains of a Roman naval base in Cumbria in the hope of finding evidence of a civilian settlement from more than 1,800 years ago. The fort, often referred to as Glannaventa, was built to protect the North West from Irish invasion and was occupied from AD 120 through to the 4th Century. Sited at the edge of an eroding cliff overlooking the River Esk, parts of the fort and settlement are believed to have been reused to build the village of Ravenglass and the early Muncaster Castle. Over the centuries the Roman remains have been...

Firearms laws should be strengthened in the wake of the murderous rampage in Cumbria by Derrick Bird, an independent report said yesterday. But only "far more fundamental changes" on private ownership of guns could have prevented the tragedy, the UK's senior firearms licensing specialist concluded. The report clears Cumbria police of mishandling licences for three shotguns and a rifle granted to Bird, who murdered 12 people and seriously injured 11 others before killing himself in June this year. It says that officers carried out the process "robustly and professionally" and had no legal grounds to ban Bird from gun ownership...

(edit) The truth is that until 1920, Britain’s gun laws were so relaxed they made Texas look effeminate, but we had virtually no gun crime. That only really began to increase here after we abolished hanging. But that truth doesn’t fit the Leftist dogma which has everyone, including the Tories, the media and the police, in its grip, so the facts will be ignored.(edit) But I’d also like to urge another line of investigation.  Was Bird taking the anti-depressant pills that are now prescribed so readily by NHS doctors to so many people whose lives – like Bird’s – have...

Britain's gun laws need a complete overhaul BRITAIN’S gun laws need a complete overhaul in the wake of the shootings, a military hero said yesterday. Doug Beattie, who won the Military Cross in Afghanistan, called for gun owners to undergo an annual psychological assessment. He said: “There should be a fundamental look at the ownership of any weapons. I do not see any requirement for gun ownership except for specific businesses. “Sporting guns should be held in a centralised location, such as a sporting club. Anyone who does have a gun should have a psychological assessment each year.” In the...

SEASCALE, England – A taxi driver drove his vehicle on a shooting spree across a tranquil stretch of northwest England on Wednesday, methodically killing 12 people and wounding 25 others before turning the gun on himself, officials said. The rampage in the county of Cumbria was Britain's deadliest mass shooting since 1996 and it jolted a country where handguns are banned and multiple shootings rare.