In real life, the work of archaeologists bears little or no resemblance (rather nothing) to what they show us. the Indiana Jones movies. There are no lavish buried treasures, no chests full of coins, no secret chambers capable of spending centuries hidden. That’s the general rule, of course. Then we find cases like Senon’sin Lorraine, France, which remind us that sometimes reality surpasses science fiction. Even the one filmed by Steven Spielberg.
There archaeologists have found three amphorae with 40,000 coins Romans.
North of France. Senon is a small town in the Meuse department, in France, close to the borders with Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. Today it may be a discreet town, but centuries ago it was one of the main settlements of the Mediomatrician ancient Celtic population in Gaul that had its capital in neighboring Metz, then known as Divodorus.
Recently, when digging in Senonarchaeologists reached the vestiges of a little-known area with several layers that span from the Gallic period (before Julius Caesar’s conquest) to the mid-4th century AD.
An underground chronicle. As explains the Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives (INRAP), the new discoveries in the area occurred (almost) by pure chance. During house expansion work, researchers excavated a 1,500 square meter (m2) plot that showed them a known but little-explored part of Senon.
In general, the site preserves ancient structures excavated in the earth, such as pits, ditches or post holes that date from the 2nd century BC to the beginning of our era; and other structures that extend into the late 4th century AD
As they delved into the archaeological layers, the researchers found ancient limestone quarries, buildings, remains of homes and roads, walls, ovens, patios… “The architectural characteristics, together with the material culture revealed by the small objects found at the site, indicate a relatively well-off population, possibly composed of artisans or merchants,” they confirm from INRAP.
And the big surprise came. During their excavations, archaeologists located more than just ancient walls and causeways. When studying remains from the residential area dating back to Late Antiquity, they discovered three large ceramic vessels with thousands of coins dating between the last four of the 3rd century AD and the beginning of the 4th century. Two of these amphorae were located in the INRP excavation. The other appeared during the work of the Regional Archeology Service.
In December, Live Science needed that in total the ‘treasure’ includes more than 40,000 coins. To be more precise, the first amphora contains 38 kg of metal, which is equivalent to about 23,000-24,000 pieces, according to calculations by Vicent Geneviève, INRAP numismatist. The second jar has a broken neck and a total of around 50 kg, so experts estimate that it contains between 18,000 and 19,000. Curiously, the third container preserves only three pieces.
By analyzing all this material in detail, the Gallic archaeologists came to the conclusion that the amphorae were buried between 280 and 310 AD. In fact, some coins include the faces of the emperors. Victorino, Gloomy I and his son Gloomy IIemperors of the fleeting Gallic Empire who ruled the region with their backs to the centralized power of Rome between 260 and 274 AD
Why is it important? It is not every day that amphorae from 1,800 years ago are discovered with 40,000 coins Romans. However, to be honest, in the Meuse area there have already been found about thirty of coin deposits.
If the INRAP discovery is so important, it is, more than because of the number of pieces in the vessels, because of their context. Archaeologists believe that we are not looking at treasures hidden for security, but rather a kind of homemade bank. What’s more, the amphorae were not hidden with coins inside. Everything indicates that they were buried in an accessible place and then filled up.
“Carefully placed”. “These deposits should be considered as a snapshot of complex monetary management, planned in the medium and long term, within a household or administration, capable of making deposits and withdrawals at regular intervals,” they explain the INRAP experts, who after analyzing the vessels and their surroundings do not see signs of a “hasty concealment.”
“The containers were carefully placed in well-prepared pits, vertical thanks to leveling stones. Their location, in apparently common rooms and at a height close to the ground, indicates that they remained easily accessible to their owner,” the archaeologists insist.
The great mystery. In reality, the great mystery is not why someone (one or more people) stored tens of thousands of coins in amphorae buried at ground level or what they intended to do with all that money. The real enigma is why he left them there, apparently forgotten for centuries. INRAP experts several ideas slidesuch as the fact that Senon hosted a military fortification at that time located just 150 meters from the excavated area.
Was there a link between the amphorae with coins and that military base? Was the money reserved for payments? Researchers know that at the beginning of the 4th century there was a fire in the area that could have affected the coin deposits. Later the houses were rebuilt taking advantage of the charred foundations and walls, but that second occupation barely lasted 50 years. The place seemed to be definitively depopulated in the middle of the IV, after another fire.
Images | Simon Ritz-Anthony Robin–INRAP
Via | 3DGames
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