Category: Ancient

Metal detectorist finds Germany’s largest Hadrianic silver coin hoard

Ancient, Treasures

Germany’s largest coin hoard from the reign of the emperor Hadrian has been discovered near Wesseling, on the Rhine river just south of Cologne.

The first silver denarii were discovered by metal detectorist Oliver Riedl. After recovering 15 coins, Riedl realized there was something much bigger underground when his machine kept beeping. He stopped what he was doing and notified the Rhineland Regional Association’s Office for Archaeological Heritage Management (LVR-ABR).

Archaeologists from the Nideggen branch of the LVR-ABR were immediately dispatched to excavate the find site. The team unearthed more than 900 additional denarii, for a total of 934 coins weighing 3.1 kilos (6.8 lbs) of silver. In terms of buying power, that’s more than three times the yearly pay of a Roman legionary. Since half of their salary was deducted to pay for their food and equipment, however, a legionary would have had to save every denarius for six years to amass a hoard of this size.

The most recent coin in the hoard was minted in 124/125 A.D., which marks the likely date of its burial as during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117–138 A.D.). Almost all of the coins pre-date his reign, however. They were minted during the Flavian dynasty (69-96 A.D.), so archaeologists believe the hoard was largely collected around 100 A.D. and then buried two or three decades later with that one contemporary coin.

The oldest coin in the hoard was minted by the Roman Republic in 148 B.C., so it was almost 300 years old when it was buried. Even the oldest and most heavily worn coins were still valid when they went underground. One bears a countermark confirming that it retained the value of a silver denarius despite its many decades in circulation.

During the excavations, a concentration of numerous coins quickly became apparent. To better examine the find, it was recovered as a block and transported to the restoration workshop of the LVR State Museum in Bonn. There, the block of earth containing the coins was first X-rayed. This allowed valuable insights to be gained before the coins were unearthed. Fragments of a ceramic pot and remnants of straw were also found. “The coins were probably originally buried in a pot lined with straw,” says Rahel Otte. However, years of agricultural activity destroyed the container, and the coins were scattered in the soil. “But we were able to find and recover all the coins during our investigations.”

The hoard has now gone on display at the LVR State Museum in Bonn where it is being presented to the 300 archaeologists from all over Germany who are currently in town for the annual conference of the West and South German Association for Archaeological Research.

Roman silver coin hoard found on Gotland

Ancient, Treasures

A hoard of Roman silver coins has been discovered in Tofta on the Swedish island of Gotland. They range in date from the late 1st century to the late 2nd century A.D., but likely didn’t reach Gotland until the 4th century. The deposit includes one gold finger ring in a style typical of the mid-5th century.

Gotland’s location in the middle of the Baltic Sea made it strategically important for trade and military purposes. The earliest known fortifications on Gotland date back to 3rd century B.C., and since the 19th century the Swedish Armed Forces have had a significant presence in Gotland. The find site is next to the Tofta Shooting Range, a vast area of 2,700 hectares used for field exercises and weapons testing.

Archaeologists have been investigating the site in advance of planned expansion of the Gotland Regiment. Previous excavations uncovered the remains of four ancient farm buildings. The current dig revealed remains of two more structures within the same complex. The coins were found outside one of the two buildings.

The hoard consists of 45 silver denarii coins in the hoard were minted during the reigns of five emperors — Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius and Commodus — and four empresses — Sabina, Faustina I, Faustina II and Lucilla. They are heavily worn from centuries of use, evidence they had been in active circulation for more than a century before they made their way to Gotland.

Bones found in one of the houses were radiocarbon dated and the results found they date to the 5th century. Between the carbon-14 dates and the dating of the gold ring type, archaeologist believe the hoard was buried around 450 A.D.

Remains of Roman structure found in Switzlerland

Ancient

The remains of a previously unknown Roman structure have been discovered in Ligornetto, in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino. Archaeologists have uncovered a structure from the 2nd-3rd century A.D., a road and evidence of metalwork in the area. They also found a bronze bird fibula, probably a peacock, from the second or third century A.D.

Evidence of occupation in the Ligornetto area goes back to the beginning of the 2nd century B.C. and continued uninterrupted through the 10th century. We know from surviving inscriptions that in the Roman era, important families from the nearby urban centers of Mediolanum (Milan) and Novum Comum (Como) are known to have lived there, and a luxury villa from the period has been unearthed a half mile from the find site.

Excavations at the site began in June before new residential construction. Over about 5,380 square feet of area, the excavation uncovered remnants of a wooden structure from the final decades of the 1st century B.C., the oldest remains at the site. In the 2nd century A.D., the wooden structure was demolished, the ground leveled and a new masonry structure erected.

While there is more of the structure to be excavated, the parts of the building that have been unearthed so far are 26 feet wide and 36 feet long. It had at least six rooms. A portico about 10 feet wide was on the southern side overlooking a small road.

The building was altered again between 2nd and 3rd centuries. Additional walls were added to the interior and a platform was built of recycled bricks. The structure was permanently abandoned when it was destroyed in a fire in the 3rd century. Charcoal and remains of the collapsed roof were left untouched, so there was no further attempt to modify the building or salvage surviving materials.

While the southern portico overlooked a small road, a large strip of land behind the building extended for artisanal and agricultural activities. Postholes (indicating the presence of lightweight structures or temporary roofs) and a small path made of reused bricks, likely serving as a path and demarcating the plot, were discovered in this area.

The precise function of the building is still unclear, but the absence of fireplaces and other structures associated with domestic life seems to rule out residential use. A particularly noteworthy element, however, is the exceptional abundance of ferrous slag and bronze-working waste in the 2nd and 3rd century AD layers. These finds suggest the presence of significant metalworking activity in the immediate vicinity.

Gold Christian amulet, Bronze Age stone seal found in Turkey

Ancient

A Christian amulet from the 4th or 5th century A.D. has been discovered at the Turkmen Karahoyuk archaeological site in Konya, central Turkey. The small copper cylinder contained a sheet of gold just 0.1 millimeter thick rolled up. It has not been opened yet, but archaeologists believe a passage from the Bible was engraved on the gold.

Known as philacteria, amulets of this type were worn as a protective talismans in Late Antiquity. They are rare, especially in gold, and the closest comparable example was found in Germany. The size of the copper container indicates this one was probably worn by a child.

Karahoyuk was a settlement on a mound that today is 115 feet high. When it was founded, it was on the shore of a lake. It was first identified in a surface survey in 2017, and subsequent surveys examined the mound and surrounding area, finding ceramics and hieroglyphic Luwian language inscriptions that revealed its occupation dated back to the Bronze Age and continued to Late Antiquity.

Türkmen Karahöyük has actually been one of the most noteworthy sites in Anatolian archaeology for several years. The mound gained international attention in 2019 when the same research team discovered a stele inscribed in Luwian hieroglyphs. This stele, dedicated to King Hartapu, suggested that the mound may have been the capital of a great kingdom during the Iron Age, indicating that the region was the center of an unknown political power.

Excavations began in 2024 and having continued yearly. We are now in the third season of field excavations, and in addition to the amulet, archaeologists also found a stone seal with an inscription in Luwian hieroglyphics, two copper seals, and a clay seal impression. The stone seal dates back 3,500 years and the inscription includes a personal name and title of an official.

The stone seal bears the name “Kurunti-ziti.” According to [excavation co-director Assoc. Prof. Dr.] Massa, this name is linked to the god Kurunta, who held an important place in the Hittite world. Kurunta (Runtiya) was a protective deity associated with deer in Luwian and Hittite beliefs; his name frequently appears in both personal names and within royal circles. The clay seal impression, however, bears a different name. Massa states that these were seals used by administrative personnel in the region to seal documents, thus reflecting traces of an organized state bureaucracy at the mound.

King Hartapu ruled in the early 8th century B.C. The discovery of the seal reveals that the Karahoyuk settlement was already a regionally important administrative center far earlier than that, around 1500/1400 B.C.

Switzerland returns trafficked gold mask to Egypt

Ancient, Looting

Switzerland has returned a 2,000-year-old gold funerary mask to Egypt believed to have been looted from Fayoum. Swiss Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider formally handed over the mask to Mohamed Negm, Egypt’s ambassador to Switzerland, in a ceremony in Bern.

The Ptolemaic-era mask was seized by officials from the Swiss Federal Office for Customs and Border Security in mid-September 2022 when an individual attempted to transport it through a border crossing in Bardonnex on the road between France and Switzerland. The destination was an art collector in Geneva, Stéphane Barbier-Muller, who claimed he wanted the mask to decorate his home.

This raised red flags for the customs agents who had serious suspicions the alleged Egyptian documents accompanying the artifact were fraudulent. Customs forwarded the mask and ostensible documentation to the Federal Office of Culture where it was subjected to a thorough scientific examination by certified archaeologists.

Swiss authorities enlisted the aid of a British Museum Egyptologist who was able to confirm it is an authentic gold funerary mask dating to the 2nd century B.C., the middle of the Ptolemaic period. He believes it was taken from one of the tombs in southeastern Fayoum, looted in a clandestine excavation. Lending credence to this hypothesis is the complete absence of publication. This is an exceptional piece that would certainly have been mentioned in scientific literature.

This recovered funerary mask possesses high artistic and architectural value and belongs to the category of gilded cartonnage masks, constructed from layers of linen and treated plaster, painted in multiple colors. Its exceptional state of preservation makes it a perfect example of Ptolemaic funerary art. Designed to cover and protect the deceased’s face according to ancient Egyptian beliefs, it features an idealized facial structure that highlights delicate gilded features alongside Baroque details and colorful geometric motifs. These elements reflect a fusion of Egyptian artistic traditions and classical influences, showcasing the ancient Egyptian craftsman’s skill in manipulating materials to convey solemnity and funerary symbolism.

A year after the confiscation, the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Geneva opened a criminal investigations on charges of money laundering, receiving stolen property and violating laws on the transfer of cultural property. The case concluded with a final confiscation order in February 2026 after the Geneva art dealer named as the recipient of the shipment waived all claims to delivery.