CHEMTOU

Download CSV:

Location

City

Chemtou (Chimtou) [شمتو]

County

Jendouba [جندوبة]

Region

Country

Tunisia

Ancient place

Simitthu

Lat/Long/Alt

36.4909 / 8.5728 / 168.66 view

Location details

Centred on field

Find spot comment

Colonia Iulia Augusta Numidica Simitthus

Information

4520

Permalink

https://chre.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/hoard/4520

Hoard name

CHEMTOU

Alternative names

SIMITTHUS; SIMITTHU; CHIMTOU; شمتو

Data type

Hoard

Date of discovery (from)

12 May 1993

Total number of coins

1648

Summary

This hoard of 1648 gold coins was found at the periphery of the ancient site. It comprised two parts: 102 solidi belonging to the joint reign of Valentinian I and Valens, almost exclusively from eastern mints (AD 364-67); 1545 solidi and 1 semissis belonging to the time of Theodosius, Arcadius and Honorius, with mints mainly from southern Gaul and Italy, including some Visigothic mints (AD 379-421).

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

Discovery method

Controlled archaeological investigation
Land Use

Archaeological site
Disposition

Musée National du Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia
Comment

Found while digging the foundations for the archaeological museum.
Closing reign (earliest)

Honorius (RIC X)
Terminal year (earliest)

423
Closing reign (latest)

Honorius (RIC X)
Terminal year (latest)

423
Coin-level data

Available to enter

Fetching coin data

Numismatic rating

Excellent
Context rating

Excellent
Findspot rating

Excellent

Site comment

Chemtou was founded in the 4th to 5th century BC as a colony of the Berber kingdom of Numidia. It later became a Roman town in the province of Africa. The city was important enough to become a bishopric, before its eventual abandonment around 9th to 10th century. In Simitthus were found: an amphitheater, a theater theater, a forum with forum basilica and fountain, a three- aisled market hall, a nymphaeum, at least three thermal baths. Byzantine church buildings and a building in the north-west of the city, interpreted as an imperial edifice, which is most probably a so-called Italian podium temple or temple italique . There were also two Roman sanctuaries, the temple districts of Dii Mauri on the eastern slope, and the Caelestis on the western slope at Djebel Bou Rfifa. (Wikipedia)
Associated features

The hoard was buried at in a place that had been unoccupied for half a century.
Site class

Urban

Context

Buried land surface

Period

Roman
End period

Roman

Containers belonging to this hoard

Jug

'Cruche', see Baldus - Khanoussi (2014), p. 4, fig. 2.

References

Reference

Kent, J. - 1994 - The Roman Imperial Coinage : 10. The divided Empire and the fall of the western parts AD 395-491

Ref

p. xciv

Reference

Khanoussi, M. - 1995 - Le trésor de Chemtou

Ref

272-273

Reference

Bland, R. - 1997 - Changing patterns of hoards of precious metal coins in the late Empire

Ref

table 4, no. 186

Reference

Salama, Pierre - 2002 - La chasse aux trésors dans le Maghreb classique

Ref

1986

Comment

Inv. 38

Reference

Salama, Pierre - 2005 - Le trésor de Sigus et ses comparatifs

Ref

37-59

Comment

no. 166

Reference

Hobbs, R. - 2006 - Late Roman precious metal deposits, c. AD 200-700 : changes over time and space

Ref

no. 1610

Comment

Gold weight: 7,326.95g; silver weight: 4.54g.

Reference

Baldus, H. R. - Khanoussi, M. - 2014 - Der spätantike Münzschatz von Simitthus/Chimtou

Comment

full catalogue of all the coins

Updated by C. Gazdac (January 2019); bibliography and information added (M. Spoerri, Nov. 2020).

Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire

CHEMTOU

Data not added to the map

Containers belonging to this hoard

Jug

'Cruche', see Baldus - Khanoussi (2014), p. 4, fig. 2.

References

Coin Hoardsof the Roman Empire

CHEMTOU

Data not added to the map

Containers belonging to this hoard

Jug

'Cruche', see Baldus - Khanoussi (2014), p. 4, fig. 2.

References

Twitter

Facebook

Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire