A metal detector makes an extraordinary discovery that rewrites the history of ancient Britain (photo)

Lewis Fudge, a British resident, was exploring a deposit in Hampshire with a metal detector and found an ancient gold coin smaller than a fingernail. It was inscribed with the word "Esunertos".

According to AncientPages, the coin was engraved with the name of an unknown Iron Age ruler. It was minted somewhere between 50 and 30 BC, shortly after Julius Caesar's first raid on Britain in 55 BC.

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The publication writes that this coin is "one of the earliest instances of inscription found on an indigenous British coin, and also attests to a previously unknown 'ruler' and undoubted contemporary of Caesar's client King Commios." It is made of reddish-golden metal.

Experts who studied the coin came to the conclusion that it was minted by a man whose name was Iisvnirtos, which translates from Celtic as "The Mighty One" or "The God of Esos".

It is noted that this man ruled the Celts in the fort of Danebury Hill.

Iron Age coin specialist Gregory Edmund, who led a team of experts in the study of the find, noted that Esunertos was once forgotten, but now his name occupies an important place in historical records.

He added that the stunning ancient coin has opened a new chapter in British history, and perhaps other finds could provide additional information about King Esunertos' reign.

The found coin was put up for auction and sold for £20,400.

As a reminder, a set of Bronze Age women's jewelry was found in a field in Switzerland . The 1500-year-old find was located underground in the canton of Thurgau in the northeast of the country.

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