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The hoard was discovered in a hole dug by Anglian Water when working on Cambridge's sewage systemIn October 2000, archaeologists excavating a sewerage shaft in Cambridge discovered this remarkable collection of 13th and 14th century coins. Lying in the remains of a disintegrated wooden box, on the site of what was once a house, this hoard totalled 1,805 silver pennies and nine gold coins - a very substantial sum in medieval times, representing approximately £5000 in today's currency. Just after the Black Death, this money had been hidden by an unknown person; buried in a hole that was sealed with a stone, in a room that was then overlaid with a new clay floor.

The vastness of the amount hidden compared with similar finds suggests that its owner was one of Cambridge's wealthier inhabitants, perhaps a merchant - but why did this person bury such a huge sum, and then neglect to reclaim it? The motives that kept these coins hidden for over seven hundred years remain one of Cambridge's most enduring mysteries.

The hoard was discovered in a hole dug by Anglian Water when working on Cambridge's sewage system