ARCALIA

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Location

City

Arcalia

County

Bistrița-Năsăud

Region

Transylvania

Country

Romania

Lat/Long/Alt

47.062362059821 / 24.384359962629 / 0 view

Location details

Centred on field

Information

21260

Permalink

https://chre.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/hoard/21260

Hoard name

ARCALIA

Data type

Hoard

Date of discovery (from)

19 Dec 2022

(to)

Apr 2023

Total number of coins

110

Summary

110 silver coins: 98 imperial denarii (among: 10 cast copies, 1 barbarous imitation), 2 siliquae: Titus - Constantius II (AD 351-355). The coins were found together with a Hunnic silver shoe-buckle dated at the end of the 4th - beginning of the 5th centuries AD.

Details
Coins Summary
Coins
Rating
Archaeological context
Containers
Objects
References
Reports
Images
Credit

Discovery method

Metal detector
Land Use

Woodland
Disposition

Museum Complex Bistrița-Năsăud, Bistrița, Romania
Finder(s)

Andrei Muji and Liviu Buta
Closing reign (earliest)

Constantius II
Terminal year (earliest)

351
Closing reign (latest)

Constantius II
Terminal year (latest)

354
Opening year (earliest)

80
Opening year (latest)

80
Coin-level data

Available to enter

Fetching coin data

Numismatic rating

Excellent
Context rating

Excellent
Findspot rating

Excellent

Date of excavation (from)

2023
Date of excavation (to)

2023
Natural features

Woodland
Site comment

At the beginning of the excavations the traces from the metal detecting activity were still visible. The slope angle of 70°, altitude 404 m, suggest that, most likely, the coins run down the slope from the initial concealment place. At the same time, during the metal detecting activity clods of earth that may have contained more coins were dislocated and went down on the slope. Therefore, a N-S trench of 5 × 3 m divided in two quadrants (2.5m side) was opened. The cleaning of the place from the leaves did not reveal any traces of pottery or a fire. Once the area was cleaned, it could notice that the detectorists were focused on the ground around a large stump. The first coin was found in quadrant 1, at 20 cm depth, in the slided soil, 40 cm from the S profile, 35 cm from the E one. Other seven coins were found within the same quadrant, meters 5–25, at a depth of 30 cm. This situation led to the conclusion that the coins were part of the clods of earth removed by detectorists. An argument on this line is the concentration of coin finds in the median area of the trench that correspond to slope. The rest of the coins comes from the second quadrant, meters 0–2.5, near the stump. Twenty-six coins were discovered at a depth of 30–35 cm on the edge of the pit dug by detectorists and in the clods of earth disposed by them. Coins at the time of finding and in the detectorists’ pit. At the same time, it was noticed that coins are actually stuck on the stump roots, 10 coins. Thus, the stump was removed and a quadrant of 1.5 × 1.2 m and reach a depth more than 35 cm. Coins revealed around the stump and among its roots. Thirty-two more coins were discovered on an area of 50 × 50 cm at a depth of 70–75 cm. From archaeologically point of view, we identified traces of a small pit but no other material to attest the presence of a container. However, on the bottom of this pit, under a compact bulk of coins, a silver shoe-buckle, perfectly preserved, was discovered. Following the archaeological investigation at the place it can be stated now that the hoard was concealed in a pit of 75 cm deep on a rough hill slope. No traces of a container were noticed.
Recovery method

Metal detecting use
Site class

Rural