Archaeologists excavating the future site of the Rotterdamsebaan access road in The Hague announced on Friday that they’ve unearthed a Roman-era pot containing a hoard of coins and jewelry. The contents of the pot were discovered fused together in a large lump of metal. Conservators were able to separate the individual parts of the mass and discovered 107 silver coins, six silver bracelets, a large silver plated fibula (cloak brooch) and some glass beads that were probably on a chain that has now disintegrated.
The coins are all silver denarii, a very valuable collection at a time when brass coins were far more common in circulation. The oldest coin dates to the reign of the emperor Nero (54-68 A.D.), the youngest to the reign of Marcus Aurelius about a century later (161-180 A.D.). One extremely rare coin was struck under the reign of Emperor Otho who only ruled three months, from January 15th to April 16th 69 A.D., the second in the turbulent Year of the Four Emperors which came to a close with the ascent of Vespasian.
Before banks, the best way to stash your cash was in the Roman equivalent of a Mason jar buried in the back yard. The owners were probably rounded up and killed by the Saxons, and since dead men tell no tales, the stash of silver cash remained safely buried until now. More secure than any modern bank, if you are still around to make a withdrawal!
Very interesting. These hoards keep popping up here and there as the march of "progress" continues.
ReplyDeleteIt's like the countryside is peppered with them. Amazing how much hard earned wealth went into the ground, and never came out for centuries.
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