A TREASURE trove of Roman history has been revealed at Thornbury Museum.

The sight of 200 of the now infamous hoard of coins led to rapturous applause at Saturday's unveiling.

Television archaeologist Mark Horton officially opened the Roman exhibition, including the 1700-year-old coins which were discovered in a Thornbury back garden in 2004.

More than 100 people packed out the tiny Coins Room to catch a glimpse of the Nummi coins, which were allowed to be moved to Thornbury Museum after a £10,000 security upgrade.

Sandi Shallcross, chairman of the trust which runs the museum, said: "It was a really exciting morning. We had two Roman guards parading around the museum, guarding the door and the case with the coins in.

"We are all delighted and feel very lucky to have the coins on show in Thornbury."

The coins are part of a hoard which was discovered by father-of-three Ken Allen while he was digging a new fishpond in his garden, which totals more than 11,000 coins.

Special permission was granted to move a small number of the coins from Bristol Museum and Galleries to Thornbury following public demand.

The coins will be on permanent display at the museum during opening hours (Tuesday to Friday 1-4pm and Saturday 10am-4pm).