ROMAN ERA HOARD FOUND NEAR BORSUM, GERMANY

 

In Lower Saxony, officials confirmed a Roman era hoard find that includes 450 silver coins, one gold ring, one gold coin, and several silver bars near Borsum.

The cache comes from the early Roman Imperial period and was recovered during a controlled archaeological sweep after the late report.

Specialists are cleaning the coins and bars so inscriptions and surfaces can be examined for wear, mint marks, and traces of handling.

This step will guide dating to a narrower window inside the early Roman Imperial period, when emperors replaced the older republican system across Europe.

"The discovery is of enormous scientific importance," said Messal. The regional office flagged the scientific value and unusual scale, noting the hoard ranks among Lower Saxony's largest.

Researchers will identify emperors and mints on coins, which offers a terminus for burial and hints about circulation routes over long distances.

If coins cluster by date or type, that pattern might signal a short saving episode, while variety could point to long-term accumulation for trade.

Teams will examine silver content using non-destructive methods that preserve delicate surfaces for later study and museum display.

Small differences in alloy and trace elements can map sources of metal, linking bars and coins to mines that supplied imperial mints over time.

The gold ring and single gold coin may indicate either high-status ownership or mixed savings that combined prestige pieces with everyday tender.

Bars suggest conversion of loose metal into transportable value for payments or purchases, which fits frontier economies shaped by intermittent contact.

Specialists in numismatics, the study of coins and currency, will compare inscriptions, portraits, and wear to regional finds from northern Germany.

Comparisons help test whether this deposit reflects payments to allies, spoils from conflict, or commercial savings that never reached a marketplace.

To read the complete article, see:
One of the greatest Roman treasures found in decades is unearthed with a metal detector (https://www.earth.com/news/great-roman-hoards-found-in-decades-unearthed-metal-detector-near-borsum/)

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