A rare Roman coin issued to mark the founding of Constantinople has been uncovered during excavations at a Roman villa in southwest England. The discovery is giving researchers new insight into how imperial messages, trade goods and everyday life reached one of the westernmost corners of Roman Britain.
Archaeologists recovered the bronze coin during a 2026 community excavation at a Roman villa near Halberton in Devon. Cotswold Archaeology dated the coin to between AD 330 and 340, shortly after Emperor Constantine established Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman Empire.
Unlike a modern commemorative coin, the piece was intended for everyday use while promoting Constantine’s new imperial capital. Its discovery in rural Devon shows that official symbols of the empire reached communities far from Rome and the eastern Mediterranean.
Coin reflects a changing Roman Empire
The coin belongs to the Constantinopolis commemorative series issued after the dedication of Constantinople in AD 330. The front typically features a helmeted female figure representing the new capital. The reverse shows the winged goddess Victory standing on the prow of a ship while holding a scepter and shield.
Researchers said the naval design likely commemorates the Battle of the Hellespont in AD 324, when Constantine’s son Crispus led the imperial fleet to victory over the forces of Licinius. That victory secured Constantine’s control of the Roman Empire and helped pave the way for the founding of Constantinople.
Similar coins have been discovered at archaeological sites across Britain, but the Devon example fits the final period of occupation at the villa. Researchers believe the estate remained inhabited from the mid-second century through the fourth century AD.
Imported goods reached rural Devon
The excavation also uncovered evidence that the villa’s occupants had access to imported products from across the Roman world.
Among the finds were fragments of a Dressel 20 amphora, a large storage vessel made in the Guadalquivir Valley of southern Spain. These containers were widely used to transport olive oil throughout the Roman Empire, suggesting Mediterranean imports reached the estate.
With only one week left at our Roman Villa community dig in Devon, we wanted to SHARE the 2,000-year-old artefacts giving us the most tangible connection to the site's past inhabitants…
🏺 These huge sherds of pottery once belonged to a large amphora, which looks to be a… pic.twitter.com/ZsVur6rvQ7
— Cotswold Archaeology (@CotswoldArch) July 13, 2026
Archaeologists also recovered a copper-alloy spoon with traces of silver plating, a style commonly linked to the later Roman period. A hand-carved bone pin with a decorated tip provides another glimpse into daily life. Similar pins were used to arrange hair, fasten clothing or secure small bags.
Other discoveries from the 2026 excavation include painted pottery, an indented drinking beaker, a fragment of Samian ware with a lion-shaped spout, a copper-alloy bracelet and a blue glass intaglio engraved with the image of the goddess Victory.
Rare villa reveals life in Roman Britain
The villa lies beneath farmland between Halberton and Sampford Peverell. Roman villas are uncommon in Devon, making the site one of the county’s most important archaeological discoveries. It was first identified in 2004 after local metal detectorist John Hill found Roman coins and other artifacts. Later surveys revealed a much larger estate with buildings and enclosed areas.
The main villa measured about 115 by 33 feet (35 by 10 meters) and was expanded over several phases. One room contained a colorful mosaic with a central floral design, believed to be the westernmost known example of this type of multicolored Roman mosaic in Britain. Underfloor heating, painted wall plaster and luxury objects suggest the estate belonged to a wealthy family.
Nearby excavations uncovered additional buildings, including a waterproof tank that may have served as a plunge bath and another structure containing animal bones and worked antler, pointing to farming, food processing or craft production.
The excavation is part of the five-year SHARE project, or Saving Halberton’s Ancient Roman Environment, led by the University of Exeter with Cotswold Archaeology and local heritage organizations. Researchers aim to document the villa before continued plowing damages its surviving walls and mosaics. Artifacts and lifted sections of the mosaic are expected to become part of the collection at the Tiverton Museum of Mid-Devon Life.
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