A simple metal detector signal led to the discovery of 934 Roman silver coins, buried for nearly 1,900 years.
The discovery took place in a field near Wesseling, south of Cologne, Germany. Oliver Riedl was conducting an authorized search with a metal detector when he found several coins. After 15 discoveries, the device continued to signal metal in the ground. He then alerted the archaeological services rather than continuing alone.
Silver denarius of Emperor Domitian from the hoard discovered near Wesseling.
Credit: Marcel Zanjani / LVR Office for the Preservation of Archaeological Monuments in the Rhineland
The subsequent excavations uncovered exactly 934 Roman denarii, with a total mass of 3.1 kilograms of silver. The denarius was a common coin of the Roman Empire. The most recent coin was minted in 124 or 125 CE. The deposit therefore probably dates to the reign of Emperor Hadrian, between 117 and 138.
The surprise also comes from the coins' very different ages. Most date from the Flavian emperors, who ruled between 69 and 96. But the oldest dates back to 148 BCE, during the Roman Republic. It was therefore still in circulation more than 270 years after it was made when the hoard was buried.
This long period of use is a reminder that an old coin did not necessarily disappear when power changed hands. Archaeologists believe that the hoard was probably assembled around the year 100, then hidden several decades later. The exact reason remains unknown. The owner may simply have wanted to protect his money in a place he considered safe.
The value of the deposit gives an idea of the effort required to amass such a sum. At that time, a legionary received about 300 denarii per year. However, about half was used to pay for food and equipment. According to archaeologists from the LVR, which is responsible for protecting the archaeological monuments of the Rhineland, he would have needed about six years of available savings to reach 934 denarii.
The container also left traces. The coins appear to have been placed in a ceramic pot lined with straw. Centuries of agricultural work destroyed the vessel and scattered some of the coins in the soil. Nevertheless, archaeologists were able to recover the entire hoard after removing a block of soil and examining it with X-rays.
According to the LVR, this deposit is the largest known German hoard of coins hidden during the reign of Hadrian, and the fifth-largest known in the world. Its owner remains unknown, as does the reason why he never returned to retrieve his fortune. The 934 coins are now being studied and displayed at the LVR-Landesmuseum in Bonn.