VOLUBILIS 1930

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Location

City

Fertassa [فرتاسة ]

County

Meknès

Region

Fès-Meknès

Country

Morocco

Ancient place

Volubilis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volubilis

Lat/Long/Alt

34.074 / -5.556 / 383.11 view

Location details

Centred on village/city

Find spot comment

Found on the south side of the aqueduct, roughly opposit the point at which a conduit branched off the main pipeline (at a ninety degree angle) bringing water to a fountain.

Information

5228

Permalink

https://chre.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/hoard/5228

Hoard name

VOLUBILIS 1930

Alternative names

Trésor du bracelet-bourse de Volubilis

Data type

Hoard

Date of discovery (from)

Dec 1930

Total number of coins

105

Summary

A hoard of at least 105, possibly up to 115, denarii found at the end of December 1930, of which only 105 are still identified in the records of Rabat Museum. Chatelain, the original excavator, listed 114 coins in the find, including two coins of Juba II, one of Nero, one of Galba, nineteen of Vespasian, seven of Titus, twenty-three of Domitian, three of Nerva, forty-eight of Trajan and ten of Hadrian. However it is clear that Chatelain misidentified two of the Republican denarii as coins of Juba II. The next publication of the hoard, by Ruhlmann, came in 1933. This list largely agrees with the records kept by Rabat Museum, but includes ten extra coins, taking the total up to 115, which must now be regarded as lost. The missing coins listed by Ruhlmann are as follows: one Republican denarius, one denarius of Vespasian, two denarii of Domitian, five denarii of Trajan and one Hadrianic denarius. There are no further details concerning the types of these coins, because Ruhlmann only published in detail the nine latest specimens from the find. The whole hoard was contained in a hollow bracelet and was probably buried circa 122.

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

Discovery method

Controlled archaeological investigation
Discovery depth (m)

1.5 meters
Land Use

Archaeological site
Disposition

Rabat Museum
Finder(s)

M. L. Chatelain
Comment

Marion noted the excellent condition of the imperial period coins, suggesting that the coins did not circulate much before entering the hoard. In contrast the two surviving Republican denarii are in not quite as good condition. Ruhlmann, pp. 55-56, discussed the possible motivation for the deposition of the hoard, but felt unable to come to a firm conclusion. He did point to the fact that between 118-123 there was military activity in the area. However, he could not directly link it to the hoard, especially because the hoard was so small and he regarded the find site as isolated.
Closing reign (earliest)

Hadrian
Terminal year (earliest)

119
Closing reign (latest)

Hadrian
Terminal year (latest)

122
Opening year (earliest)

-86
Opening year (latest)

-86
Coin-level data

Entered

Fetching coin data

Numismatic rating

Excellent
Context rating

Fair
Findspot rating

Good

Date of excavation (from)

1930
Site comment

The hoard was found on the south side of the aqueduct at a point just before a roughly perpendicular conduit branched off the main channel to supply a fountain.
Recovery method

Excavation
Site class

Urban

Context

Aqueduct

Period

Hellenistic
End period

Roman

Containers belonging to this hoard

Bracelet

Hollow bracelet (diam. 11 cm, height 4.5 cm), with an opening in form of a hatch. 'One end is closed, - brewed or welded, - but other opens or closes by means of a small hatch of the same metal as the hoard container.' (Chatelain 1931, 296). Photo credit: Ruhman 1933, p. 53, fig. 2; p. 59, fig. 3.

References

Reference

Chatelain, L. - 1931 - Les recherches archéologiques au Maroc

Ref

296

Comment

Gives a short list of the coins, mentioning 2 Juba II, 1 Nero, 1 Galba, 19 Vespasian, 7 Titus, 23 Domitian, 3 Nerva, 48 Trajan and 10 Hadrian, so a total of 114 coins. The 2 coins of Juba were misidentified and are coins of the Roman Republic.

Reference

Ruhlman, A. - 1933 - Le bracelet-bourse romain de Volubilis (Maroc)

Ref

51-59

Comment

Gives an account of the discovery, lists without details 3 Republican and 112 Roman Imperial coins (1 Nero, 1 Galba, 19 Vespasian, 7 Titus, 23 Domitian, 3 Nerva, 48 Trajan and 10 Hadrian), so a total of 115 coins. Only the coins of Hadrian are described in detail.

Reference

Marion, J. - 1978 - Les trésors monétaires de Volubilis et de Banasa

Ref

180-184

Comment

Gives a full catalogue of the 105 coins belonging to this hoard in the Rabat museum, noting that earlier accounts give a total of 115 or 114 coins.

Reference

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

Ref

1969; inv. 2

Reference

Salama, Pierre, and Besombes, Paul-André - 2002 - Le trésor de deniers d'Aïn Témouchent et ses "satellites" dans l'Afrique romaine.

Ref

190; inv. 3

URI 1

URI 2

Comment

Ruhlmann 1933, fig. 1

W. E. Metcalf dataset; K. Huber for data up to and including Nero; updated by C. Gazdac (June 2018; Jan.; Dec. 2019), revised by M. Spoerri (Jan. 2020). Coin level data checked by R. Bennett (Jan. 2020). Revised by C. Gazdac (July 2020). RIC II.3 (Hadrian) references added by M. Ball (June 2022).

Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire

VOLUBILIS 1930

Data not added to the map

Containers belonging to this hoard

Bracelet

Hollow bracelet (diam. 11 cm, height 4.5 cm), with an opening in form of a hatch. 'One end is closed, - brewed or welded, - but other opens or closes by means of a small hatch of the same metal as the hoard container.' (Chatelain 1931, 296). Photo credit: Ruhman 1933, p. 53, fig. 2; p. 59, fig. 3.

References

Coin Hoardsof the Roman Empire

VOLUBILIS 1930

Data not added to the map

Containers belonging to this hoard

Bracelet

Hollow bracelet (diam. 11 cm, height 4.5 cm), with an opening in form of a hatch. 'One end is closed, - brewed or welded, - but other opens or closes by means of a small hatch of the same metal as the hoard container.' (Chatelain 1931, 296). Photo credit: Ruhman 1933, p. 53, fig. 2; p. 59, fig. 3.

References

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Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire