She was unearthed in the ancient settlement of Senon, in northeastern France, about 280 kilometers from Paris. Archaeologists unearthed three large ceramic vessels buried inside homes. Two of these containers could collect more than 40,000 Roman coins. The third had already been emptied in Antiquity. The vessels with thousands of Roman coins were hidden for thousands of years.
The excavation is led by the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap). It is the organization that in France is responsible for carrying out and coordinating preventive archaeological excavations. These are interventions that are carried out before works or renovations to document and recover historical remains that may remain underground. The work covered 1,500 square meters and allowed us to reconstruct a part of Senon's past.
Protected treasure
It helps reveal how the settlement evolved from a Gallic village to a thriving Roman city. And how, finally, it disappeared in a fire. The deposit of the vessels is located between the years 280 and 310 AD. C. It would not be a “treasure” hidden in a hurry, but rather accessible deposits that could be used for savings or regular monetary management.
The first vessel contained 38 kilos of coins, equivalent to about 23,000 or 24,000 pieces. The second vessel weighed about 50 kilos and, based on 400 coins recovered from the broken neck, could hold between 18,000 and 19,000 specimens. The third container had already been removed in ancient times and only three coins remained in the pit. It would be a potential total of more than 40,000 pieces. Among the coins there are examples with busts of the emperors Victorinus, Tetricus I and Tetricus II. The pieces date from the last quarter of the 3rd century and the first decade of the 4th century.
The vessels were carefully placed in well-prepared pits. They were perfectly vertical thanks to the use of leveling stones. They were inside apparently ordinary living rooms and the neck was very close to the surface of the floor, which left them accessible to their owner. That feature fits better with caches that could be called upon than with a makeshift hiding place.
Abandonment due to fire
The context of the discovery describes a wealthy residential neighborhood. There are at least three stone houses lined up next to two paved streets. They have living rooms, basements, domestic or workshop rooms and hypocaust heating. The small recovered objects and architecture point to a relatively well-off population, perhaps artisans or merchants.
The stratigraphic sequence explains why the money was buried for almost two millennia. A large layer of ash from the beginning of the 4th century was detected. A fire caused its final abandonment in the middle of that century. But the vessels with thousands of Roman coins remained there, waiting to be found.
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