In September 1993, work was underway to build a hospital parking lot on Feldstrasse in the German city of Trier, near the Roman bridge.
The city was founded around the year 16 BC. by the Romans as Augusta Treverorum and therefore preserves many buildings and remains from that time, such as the Porta Nigra. That is why it is not unusual that the remains of walls and vaults from the basements of a Roman insula (multi-story residential block) were found in the parking works.
However, the works were not interrupted and the excavators continued their work. On September 9, coin collectors who were inspecting the earth removed by one of the machines found several gold coins in it.
They returned at night with a metal detector and in a short time they had obtained in the excavation hole the fabulous loot of 1,389 Roman aurei (the Roman gold coin that was in use until the year 309 AD, when it was replaced by the solid). Some of the coins were caked due to corrosion and clay.
But before dawn, in one of the basement rooms, they discovered a bronze vessel containing another 561 gold coins. The vessel, which had been broken by one of the excavators that same afternoon, was the original place where all the coins from the discovery had been kept.
Let’s go back to the afternoon of September 9. The earth that had been removed from the Feldstrasse excavation was to be reused as fill material in further work on a car park at the Kockelsberg hotel, which is about 5 kilometers away on a hill. Some collectors followed the truck that was transporting the earth and, when they arrived at the hotel, they spread a rumor that there could be a treasure among the rubble.
The result was that they, the truck drivers, and many hotel guests began to excitedly dig through the dirt. By the end of the afternoon they had found another 400 gold coins, and even the top of the bronze vessel.
Other coins had been appearing throughout the day and night. On the morning of September 10, 19 people, including collectors, handed over all the coins found to the Rheinisches Landesmuseum (Rhineland Regional Museum in Trier). It was the largest treasure ever found of gold coins from the Roman imperial period: 2,650 aurei in total.
Different types of coins from the Trier Treasury | photo Th.Zühmer/Rheinisches Landesmuseum on Wikimedia Commons
The coins together weigh about 18 and a half kilograms, and practically all of them (more than 99 percent) were minted between the years 63 and 168 AD, corresponding to approximately one tenth of all the aureus from that period found to date. moment.
It is unknown to whom such an impressive amount of money belonged, equivalent to 265,000 sesterces. It could be owned by an individual, but also by the imperial administration of the city. As a comparison, it is known that the annual income of the Roman procurator of Trier (the person in charge of finances) was about 200,000 sesterces. It is also speculated that it could be part of the deposit of the temple of Asclepius, which was located nearby.
Since the most recent coins were minted between the years 193 and 196 AD, the treasure has been related to the war between the emperor Septimius Severus and his rival Clodius Albinus, who attacked Trier that year although he did not manage to conquer it. Perhaps the owner or manager of the treasure hid it at the time, and then was never able to return to retrieve it because he died or fled.
News
Exploring Peru’s Ancient Architecture: Mysteries of the Inca Civilization
I found myself at two sites where examples of Inca architecture and design could be observed in its finest form. Here below follows a visual tour. Immediately noticeable was the combination of strength, functionality, durability and visual appeal. Aesthetics always…
A Tomb Both Great and Blameless’: Marriage and Murder on a Sarcophagus from the Hellespont
Çanakkale Archaeological Museum Polyxena Sarcophagus side. Kızöldün Tumulus is the oldest known tumulus of Hellespontine Phrygia. It was found in the Granicus River valley, near Biga in the Province of Çanakkale in 1994. The discovery was the result of the…
After lying buried beneath the Egyptian plateau for over three millennia, a wooden sarcophagus finally emerges from the sands of Abydos, hinting at untold secrets waiting to be unveiled.
In 2020, a wooden sarcophagus emerges from the sand at Abydos; during archaeological excavations, after spending more than three Millennia, below the surface of the Egyptian plateau : In a breathtaking discovery that bridges chasm between ancient civilizations and the…
Parts of a marble sculpture of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius were found in Sagalassos, Turkey, revealing insights into the region’s art and history under his rule.
Parts of a giant, exquisitely carved marble sculpture depicting the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius have been found at an archaeological site in Turkey. Fragments of the statue were unearthed at the ancient city of Sagalassos. So far the statue’s head,…
Roman emperor Philippus the Arab kneeling in front of Persian King Shapur I, begging for peace, and the standing emperor represents Valerian who was taken captive by the Persian army in 260 AD, The triumph of Shapur I, Naqshe Rostam, Iran.
The triumph relief of Shapur I (r.241-272), the most famous Sasanian rock relief from Naqš-e Rustam, is very close to the tomb of Darius I the Great. It shows how king Shapur has defeated two Roman emperors. The historical events depicted are these. In 244, the Roman…
Unveiling Ancient Egypt’s Predynastic Legacy: The True Builders of the Pyramids and the Controversy of Alien Giants with Elongated Craniums
The Tomb of Akhenaton’s Seal Bearer June 2007 The tomb of Betah Im Weya, King Akhenaton’s seal Bearer was found yesterday by a Netherlands mission during their excavation work in Saqqara necropolis. Dr. Zahi Hawass secretary general of the Supreme…
End of content
No more pages to load