Conny Waters – MessageToEagle.com – Large treasure of silver coins dated to the Roman period has been accidentally discovered in Hrubieszów near Lublin, in eastern Poland.
The treasure of 1,753 silver coins weighing over five kilos was abandoned in the last stand of the Vandals before fleeing from the arriving Goths at the end of the second century AD when Europe was in upheaval as the Western Roman Empire was collapsing.
Left: The Goths were a German people probably from southern Scandinavia who played a major role in the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. Public domain; Right: Goth migration. source
The First News reports that Andrzej Kokowski from the Archaeology Institute in Lublin, who discovered the presence of the Goths in the region, is in no doubt as to the scale of the find. “This is an amazing phenomenon of the ancient culture that can be seen in one place.
This treasure will be the crown of Polish archaeology,” he said.
The dinars are in the possession of the local museum in Hrubieszów, which released news of the find yesterday. However, the treasure was found in 2019 in a field near Cichobórz, south of Hrubieszów. The coins were spread out over a field after being churned up by farm equipment. They were spotted by local farmer Mariusz Dyl, who was looking for abandoned antlers.
Dyl immediately informed the staff at the museum in Hrubieszów about his discovery. Together they returned to the site and with a team of archaeologists and volunteers, they discovered another 137 coins.
The coins were not in one place but were spread by agricultural machines over 100 m. In total, 1,753 coins were discovered.
Local museum director Bartłomiej Bartecki said assessing the value of the find that the average pay for a Roman legionnaire at the time was about 300 dinars.
Archaeologists think that the treasure weighing over five kilos was abandoned in the last stand of the Vandals before fleeing from the arriving Goths at the end of the second century AD. Image credit: Stanislaw Staszic Muzeum Hrubieszów via The First News
“You couldn’t buy a village for this, but it was not a small amount, especially for barbarian tribes,” he said
The archaeologists believe that the coins were originally placed in a wooden casket or leather pannier. Although the remains of the container have not survived, it is known that it was decorated with silver-plated rivets made of bronze as eight of them were found among the coins.
See also:
Who Were The Goths And Where Did They Come From?
Kingdom Of The Vandals: A People In Search Of A Home
The coins were dated to the second century as they bear the image of Roman emperors Nerva, who ruled 8 November 30 to 27 January 98, and Septimus Severus, 11 April 145 to 4 February 211.
The area was inhabited by Vandals at the time, who were pushed out by Goths in the great wandering of peoples from Scandinavia to southern Europe at the end of the second century.
Other finds in the region suggest that the departure of the Vandals was a time of great violence.
Vandal cavalryman, c. AD 500, from a mosaic pavement at Bordj Djedid near Carthage. Image source
“It didn’t happen without fighting. From this period we know of numerous Vandal cemeteries where warriors were buried with ritually destroyed weapons were buried,” said Bartecki, adding the burying of treasure is also a sign of great upheaval.
“Perhaps the Vandals hoped to return in the near future, so they decided to bury the coins. But they were mistaken in their assessment,” said Kokowski, who believes that the buried treasure represents the last stand of the Vandals in the Lublin region.
“The situation was so bad for the Vandals retreating, or rather the fleeing from the Goths that they hid everything that was most precious,” he said.
“It seems that this is where the Vandals lost the means to continue fighting!” he added.
The archaeologist underlined how important the find is for understanding the downfall of the Vandals in the region.
“They had to get rid of huge financial resources that were necessary to wage war with the Goths, and therefore they ended up helpless. The hidden coins remained under Hrubieszów.
“They couldn’t come back for them and could not recruit soldiers. That is why the Goths peacefully spread to the whole south-east and occupied Ukraine,” he said.
The Vandals were a Roman-era Germanic people who first appear in written records inhabiting present-day southern Poland. The Goths, meanwhile, were also German people probably from southern Scandinavia who played a major role in the downfall of the Western Roman Empire.
The coins will be analyzed by experts from the University of Warsaw.
Written by Conny Waters – MessageToEagle.com – AncientPages.com Staff Writer