In Lienden, Gelderland, the gold coins kept coming up. Never before have so many Roman coins been found in one location, a total of 41 pieces. And also important:they were never this young. This gives a different view of the late Roman period in the Netherlands.
It is the summer of 2016, when the Free University of Amsterdam (VU) starts a hotline for hobby archaeologists. Within a month, the first reports about Lienden are already coming in. On a farm in this village in the Betuwe, 31 gold coins from Roman times had been found by various diggers. Remarkable, so archaeologists from the VU dive into the archive. And guess what? Gold coins have been found on the same plot several times since the nineteenth century. This is clearly a real gold treasure.
Spiritual motif
Nico Roymans, professor of archeology at the VU, thought this was reason enough to excavate the field in question with a team. “We wanted to know if there were any more coins or possibly jewelry in the bottom. A second question was whether the finds had been in a jar, pouch or something else.” In the end, the archaeologists found no more coins or storage material for the coins, but they did find bone remains from before the Roman period.
Scientists believe the treasure may have been buried near an ancient burial mound, more of which have been found in this riverine area. “The question is whether the treasurer still interpreted the mound as a burial mound. If that was the case, then there may also have been a spiritual motive for burying it in that spot. For example, protection of the treasure by spirits”, says Roymans.
Roman control
Including the lost coins from the nineteenth century, the find at Lienden consists of 41 gold coins or solidi. It is already the largest solidus treasure in the Netherlands, while there is a good chance that coins have been found more often, of which no one is aware. Roymans:“The treasure is almost certainly incomplete and therefore enormous.” The coins in Lienden are special for another reason. They form the youngest coin treasure in the Netherlands. It contains a coin of Emperor Maiorian (457-461), one of the last emperors. The coins will therefore be buried around 460.
As far as is known, 27 Late Roman solidus treasures have been found in the Netherlands and adjacent areas (see map). Roymans:“There is a clear pattern in this. The vast majority of treasures were buried in the early fifth century. The distribution of these gold finds reflects the ultimate attempts of the Roman authorities to control especially the Meuse and Rhine valleys and to get a grip on the Frankish groups living here.”
Help from the Franks
Security is the most obvious reason for burying valuables. In war situations, most treasures are buried, in the hope of being able to retrieve them in calmer times. The digger of this treasure never got around to that again. He was probably a Frank who fought as an ally for the Romans in the fifth century. Roymans:“At that time there were no longer any Roman legions and the old Roman administrative system had completely disappeared. At that time, in our region, there were only troops of mainly Frankish allies who received solidi in exchange for military support. The leaders again distributed the gold coins among their own men.”
That much support was needed is apparent from the enormous increase in gold coins in these regions around 460. Roymans thinks that this may be related to the activities of Emperor Majorian and his general Aegidius in Gaul. “The most plausible scenario is that Aegidius asked for military support from Frankish kings in exchange for gold payments. In response to continued attempts by Germanic groups to increase their power in Gaul, Aegidius undertook a campaign against the Ripuarian Franks (Rhine Franks) in the summer of 457, forcing Cologne to be evacuated.” In 463 Aegidius received support from Salian Franks led by Childeric I (c. 436-ca. 481). Together, the allies defeated the Visigoths, with which the Romans strengthened their power base in Gaul.
The question is whether the treasure-digger has been an ally of Childeric. “In any case, we can think of a Frankish leader from the Dutch river area, who was part of the Roman military network around 460. The fact that this area was still actively involved in this network in the third quarter of the fifth century, despite the fact that the Romans themselves had long left, is one of the most surprising discoveries of this find”, says Roymans.