Experts believe that the coins were minted in the 5th century AD

Hundreds of gold coins dating back to the late Roman Empire have been discovered buried under a disused cinema in northern Italy.

The coins, stashed in a stone urn, were found during renovation work at the building in Como, which was once a theatre and is now being transformed into apartments. Luca Rinaldi, the local archaeology superintendent, declined to put a price on the find, saying that the coins had an “inestimable” value. “We are talking about an exceptional discovery,” he said.

Workers digging at the Cressoni theatre had found the cracked amphora packed with the perfectly preserved coins, Mr Rinaldi said. The first 27 coins have been extracted and are being analysed at a state laboratory in Milan. Experts believe that they were minted