Roman coin hoard found from Cuijk, The Netherlands

[Robert Vermaat]

Yeah I know.

A larger image:



The site with the vessel:



A coin:



The link in Dutch:
http://www.planet.nl/planet/show/id=434 ... /sc=e07b40

Translation:

In Cuijk a spectacular currency treasure from the Roman time has been found. The treasure consists of at least two hundred Roman coins and has been then hidden in a 20 cm high earthenware pot. The vessel was buried somewhere after 220 AD in a pot-hole in the ground and had been covered with a reversed half pitcher for a lid.

The contents of the pot will be extracted slowly by means of laboratory research from the pot and will be cleaned, a job that will probably take six months still six to accomplish. The first one which has been examined already is a silver coin which was struck during the government of the Roman emperor Elagabalus, around 220 AD. On X-ray pictures three concentrations of coins can be seen, most likely all of silver coins, which were packed in leather pouches. Some jewels are also seen on these X-ray pictures, especially a bracelet and a finger ring.

During the recovery of the pot it appeared that the object was exactly placed on a spot where lightning had struck. Closer research must determine if there is a direct link between lightning trace, for example if the pot had been buried as a sacrifice, or that it was hidden by the occupants of the Roman settlement, or that the hoard was hidden here by pure coincidence in fear of plunderers.

Large treasures like these are not frequently found on excavations. The majority of such treasures is found by chance, as a result of which the story behind the burial remain unclear. This find is one of the largest Roman coin treasures which have been found during scientific archaeological research in the Netherlands.