THREE THOUSAND MYSTERIOUS ROMAN COINS DISCOVERED IN GERMANY

Rome had an unmatched impact on art, culture, and the world at its height. The Roman Empire covered most of Europe, northern Africa, and Asia Minor by the year 117 CE. A collection of Roman-era coins was recently discovered in Germany, which is far from the front lines of the Empire. This raises interesting questions regarding why they were discovered in hostile territory.

Near Herschbach, a German town remote from both ancient Roman borders and any known Germanic tribe settlements, a certified metal detectorist found nearly 3,000 coins. About 2,940 coins and more than 200 pieces of ornamental silver were unearthed during a follow-up excavation by government archaeologists. The ceramic pot was wedged between two rocks. Unfortunately, the artifacts were not well preserved, which made identification difficult and time-consuming.

Only 100 coins have been correctly identified thus far; the earliest show the Roman emperor Gordianus III (r. 238–244 CE), while the most recent show the Gallic emperor Victorinus (r. 269–271 CE). Under these parameters, archaeologists have dated coins between 241 and 271 C.E., meaning they were most likely buried in the early 270s.