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A jug holding a vast number of Roman coins was found during an excavation at a French village. (Image credit: © Simon Ritz, Inrap) Archaeologists in France have discovered three ancient storage jars brimming with tens of thousands of Roman coins. The vessels were buried in pits 1,700 years ago in the house floor of an ancient settlement, possibly as a type of safe or piggy bank. These three jugs, known as amphorae, were uncovered during excavations run by the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) in the village of Senon in northeastern France, and may contain a total...

Live Science reports that nearly 3,000 poorly preserved coins were discovered by a metal detectorist in the Westerwald mountain range, in an area outside the borders of the Roman Empire and any known settlements of ancient Germanic tribes. The coins were unearthed by archaeologists who also recovered more than 200 unidentified thin silver fragments decorated with geometric designs from the site. The cache had been placed in a ceramic pot and hidden between two rocks. "Most of the coins are so called Antoniniani, which were the official silver coin in the Roman Empire in the third century [A.D.], but mostly...