Cambridge archaeologists unearth first physical proof of Anglo-Saxon 'English quarter' in medieval Rome near the Vatican

From the Newshound archive · first published 1 October 2026.

Twenty Anglo-Saxon coins buried for over a millennium beneath the walled garden of Rome's Palazzo della Rovere — just metres from the Vatican — have confirmed for the first time that a thriving English expat community truly existed in medieval Rome. Cambridge professor Rory Naismith says the find shows a very large amount of money was flowing into Rome from England, with Anglo-Saxons uniquely permitted by the Pope to trade in their own currency rather than converting it. The coins, 19 silver pennies and a halfpenny, were minted across roughly 40 years under Alfred the Great's descendants Edward the Elder, Æthelstan and Eadred.

The community, known as the Schola Saxonum, had been recorded in historical texts since the 8th century but had never before been proven to exist physically.

Craftwork remains — leather, bone and metal — were also found, suggesting the Anglo-Saxons were not merely pilgrims but permanent residents making goods and trading.

Naismith compared the quarter to modern Chinatowns, calling Rome's English zone 'an interesting and vibrant place' where a specific community genuinely put down roots.