Two silver Roman coins found near Wells were officially classed as treasure at an inquest yesterday (July 21).

The coins are clipped silver Roman siliquae dating from the fourth century, and they were discovered by Andrew Thomas, in March and June last year.

He was metal detecting on land in the St Cuthbert Out parish, which is owned by Mrs E Coombes, when he made the find.

Treasure trove inquests only state the parish in which finds are made, which is why a more precise location has not been revealed.

The Wells and Mendip Museum has expressed an interest in acquiring the coins, which is why an inquest has been held to determine whether the find is officially treasure or not.

Senior coroner for Somerset Tony Williams conducted the inquest, which heard that the first siliqua dates from the time of Theodosius I, who was Roman emperor from 379 to 395.

The British Museum had been informed of the find, and in a specialist report, the inquest was told that the second siliqua was from the reign of Magnus Maximus, who was Roman emperor in the western portion of the Empire from 383 to 388.

To be classed as treasure, a find has to be more than 300 years old and have a rare metals content above 10 per cent, and this was confirmed to be the case. As two coins had been found so close to each other, the find has been classed as a hoard.

The inquest was concluded with a ruling that the coins were treasure, and they will now be valued and, if sold, the money will be split between the finders and the land owners.