BIERNE-SOCX

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Location

City

Bierne-Socx

County

Nord

Region

Hauts-France

Country

France

Lat/Long/Alt

50.953543585192 / 2.4125253851418 / 0 view

Location details

Centred on field

Find spot comment

ZAC II du Bierendyck et de la Croix Rouge

Information

22390

Permalink

https://chre.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/hoard/22390

Hoard name

BIERNE-SOCX

Data type

Hoard

Date of discovery (from)

2014

Total number of coins

Summary

61 sestertii found in a ditch of a settlement. Most likely they were kept in a wooden box.

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

Discovery method

Controlled archaeological investigation
Land Use

Built over
Finder(s)

Archéopole, responsable: H. Duvivier
Comment

Ditches 4013 and 4520
Closing reign (earliest)

Severus Alexander
Terminal year (earliest)

231
Closing reign (latest)

Severus Alexander
Terminal year (latest)

231
Opening year (earliest)

117
Opening year (latest)

138
Coin-level data

Available to enter

Fetching coin data

Numismatic rating

Good
Context rating

Excellent
Findspot rating

Poor

Site comment

During the Roman period, the municipalities of Bierne and Socx belonged to the Civitas Menapiorum, whose administrative centre was Cassel (Castellum Menapiorum). The earliest archaeological evidence comes from numerous fieldwalking surveys conducted in the neighbouring municipalities of Crochte, Pitgam and Quaëdypre, which yielded finds that mainly consisted of pottery and ancient coins. These surveys also led to the discovery of an extensive salt-production site, located primarily within the municipalities of Steene and Pitgam. Preventive excavations carried out over the past twenty years at Steene, Pitgam and Bierne have revealed several settlements associated with farming and livestock rearing, consisting mainly of enclosure ditches, pits, grain-storage pits, post-built structures and cremation burials. Although the site was extensively reoccupied during the first centuries AD, the La Tène features were preserved: the field system and so-called “domestic” enclosures established between the second half of the first century and the end of the second century AD were laid out farther north, in an area free of earlier remains. This low-lying, wet area, at an elevation of between 1 and 2 metres above the French national datum (NGF), required a dense network of ditches. These needed regular maintenance, as evidenced by repeated recutting and numerous alterations to their alignments. In the northwestern corner of the excavation, a curving track running northwest–southeast provides access to a domestic enclosure to the west and, farther east and south, to open or enclosed quadrangular areas containing almost no archaeological features, probably used for cultivation or grazing. These plots vary considerably in size, ranging from 100 to 5,000 sqm.
Associated features

A hoard of 52 bronze coins (feature 4520) was discovered during the cleaning and mechanical clearance of cut features in the uppermost part of the northern enclosure ditch 4013. This ditch has outward-sloping sides and a concave base. Examination of the various excavated sections revealed evidence of repeated ditch cleaning, followed by episodes of runoff and flowing water alternating with periods of sediment settling. The upper layer sealing the feature consists of very homogeneous, light-brown silt, indicating slow, natural infilling. The small box containing the coin hoard was deposited in this final layer, at a time when the enclosure ditch had stabilised, become overgrown with vegetation and ceased to receive regular maintenance. No preparatory cut for the deposition of the hoard was identified during excavation; nevertheless, it seems reasonable to suggest that it was buried rather than simply placed on the ground. Most of the coins making up the deposit in ditch 4013 were concentrated in the upper fill, within the stratigraphic unit corresponding to the final silting-up of a ditch that was already largely infilled. The absence of coins from both the overlying topsoil and the surface of the ditch during the initial stripping indicates that the level at which the hoard was discovered had been sealed by the same silts that formed the ditch’s final fill. The deposit, as preserved, was therefore unaffected by subsequent ploughing. The box was placed lengthwise in ditch 4013. Its placement can thus be considered opportunistic, since it made use of an existing cut whose fill was probably still relatively loose. The location was therefore probably not chosen at random: although largely infilled, the ditch must still have been clearly visible in the landscape, either as a straight, shallow depression or as a small bank. Similarly, the deposit’s location immediately beside the junction of two ditches associated with what may be interpreted as the entrance to a settlement enclosure probably reflects a desire to use an easily recognisable landmark to facilitate later retrieval. This provides further evidence that the enclosure ditches remained visible. The deposit was excavated in situ in successive layers. The coins were recovered individually and systematically assigned inventory numbers so that their precise locations could be reconstructed. Close examination of their distribution reveals that almost all the coins were concentrated in the southern part of the container, with a distinct boundary at its centre, consistent with a partition, extending through its full height. No organic traces were detected either in the other half of the container or on the surfaces of the coins. It was therefore impossible to determine whether this concentration resulted from a second container inside the box or from other perishable items placed within it.
Recovery method

Excavation
Site class

Rural

Context

Uncertain structure

Depositional context

Ditch

Containers belonging to this hoard

Wooden box

Traces of a container made of perishable material were partially discernible at the surface of the ditch. Metal oxide stains suggest the presence of small iron nails, but no fittings used to close, fasten or reinforce the box could be recovered. Although a precise reconstruction is impossible, its approximate dimensions can be inferred from the brownish clay traces left by the decomposing wood: it was probably a small chest measuring about 60 × 45 cm. Its height is more difficult to reconstruct but can be estimated at approximately 30 cm.

References

Reference

Duchemin, J.-P., Duvivier, H. and Florent, G. - 2014 - Le trésor monétaire de Bierne- Socx (Nord, France) : un dépôt de bronzes du Haut-Empire découvert en contexte archéologique

Ref

27-66

Reference

Drost, V. - 2024 - Chronique des trésors (2022) et addendum (2010-2021)

Ref

no. 19

Uploaded by C. Gazdac (Sep. 2026). Imported from CSV by Dr Cristian Gazdac.

Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire

BIERNE-SOCX

Data not added to the map

Containers belonging to this hoard

Wooden box

References

Coin Hoardsof the Roman Empire

BIERNE-SOCX

Data not added to the map

Containers belonging to this hoard

Wooden box

References

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Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire