The Royal Pavilion & Museums operate across five sites in Brighton & Hove, combining three museums, a historic house and the former royal palace. The project Roman Sussex came about in response to an unusual discovery: in 2005, in Burwash, East Sussex, a man out with a metal detector discovered the largest coin hoard of the early 200s AD found in Britain for 70 years. There were nearly 2,000 coins in total, some of astonishing rarity.

By law, the hoard – valued at £40,000 in today’s money – had to be sold to the highest bidder. With HLF support, The Royal Pavilion & Museums was able to step in and prevent the fund from passing into private hands or leaving the UK. A remarkable treasure was saved.

But the project went much further than simply buying the coins. Workshops hosted for other local museums prepared the ground for a phenomenally successful touring exhibition. The Royal Pavilion & Museum was able to use its resources to bring smaller organisations together, increasing their visitor numbers, developing the skills of their volunteers and establishing a heritage network in the area which has outlasted the project itself.