Archaeologists say there is evidence people have been illegally searching the Le Catillon site.

Archaeologists want permission to carry out a new survey of the site of Jersey’s largest coin hoard to stop people illegally searching and looting.

The Le Catillon II hoard was discovered in the east of the island in 2012 by two metal detectorists after a similar find on the site in 1957.

The hoard contains about 70,000 coins as well as valuable Iron Age artefacts.

Societe Jersiaise is seeking planning permission to carry out archaeological surveys in the same area of the island.

Plans submitted online said the move had been “prompted by recent instances of nighthawking and archaeological looting, which have been reported to the authorities since 2021”.