garnet
Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives.
All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...
cloisonné
Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, ...
jewels and ornaments, buried with a skeleton uncovered in 1842 at Pouan-les-Vallées and identified as the burial of a 5th-century Germanic warrior. Although the warrior had in the past been identified as that of
Theodoric I
Theodoric I ( got, Þiudarīks; la, Theodericus; 390 or 393 – 20 or 24 June 451) was the King of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. Theodoric is famous for his part in stopping Attila (the Hun) at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, where ...
The grave was accidentally uncovered in 1842 by a labourer at Pouan-les-Vallées (
Aube
Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),canton of
Arcis-sur-Aube
Arcis-sur-Aube (, literally ''Arcis on Aube'') is a commune in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of north-central France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arcisiens'' or ''Arcisiennes''.
The commune has been awarded "th ...
on the south bank of the
Aube
Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),skeleton buried with a number of gold and
garnet
Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives.
All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...
cloisonné
Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, ...
jewels and ornaments, including a gold ring inscribed , and accompanied by two swords with hilts encased in gold.
The nature of the
grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.
They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...
identified the burial as that of a Germanic warrior who lived in the 5th century.
Linked to Theodoric I
Oenochoe
The antiquarian who first described this find, Achille Peigné-Delacourt (1797–1881), optimistically claimed that the elite burial could be that of
Theodoric I
Theodoric I ( got, Þiudarīks; la, Theodericus; 390 or 393 – 20 or 24 June 451) was the King of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. Theodoric is famous for his part in stopping Attila (the Hun) at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, where ...
, the
Visigoth
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kn ...
king, who had undisputedly been slain in the nearby
Battle of Châlons
The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition – led by the Roman general ...
.
According to Peigné-Delacourt's theory, the corpse had been hastily interred by his followers, who meant to recover it, and that the body recovered and buried with ceremony at Toulouse, Tolosa (present-day Toulouse), the body described by Jordanes as found beneath a mound of corpses and borne away with heroic songs in sight of the enemy, was not actually that of Theodoric. Flavius Aëtius, Aëtius convinced Theodoric's son Thorismund to return home swiftly and secure the throne for himself before his brothers could begin a civil war. Thorismund quickly returned to Tolosa, buried the anonymously-recovered corpse with honours and became king without resistance.
John Man describes the motivation imagined by Peigné-Delacourt,
:"...if Thorismund, eager to claim the throne over his brothers, might have had an interest in finding a corpse, any corpse, that could be identified, rightly or wrongly, as his father's, and buried quickly, with a show of grief, and instant acclamation for Thorismund as king".
Modern view
In the last century, professional historians Thomas Hodgkin (historian), Thomas Hodgkin and later J.B. Bury have generally expressed their scepticism over this identification. Other chance finds scattered over the area of Pouan and its neighboring village Villette— including two small bronze vases, a cup, a gilt-bronze ewer, blades and horse-trappings— support the local perceptionClément Drioton, "Nouvel essai de reconstitution des armes de Pouan conservées au Musée de Troyes" and R. Hennequin, "A qui appartient le trésor de Pouan?" ''Mémoires de la Société Académique d'Agriculture, des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres du département de l'Aube'' 94 (1932) that these fields are the Battle of Châlons, Catalaunian fields of the decisive battle in 451, usually identified with Châlons-en-Champagne.
Notes
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Further reading
*''Le Trésor de Pouan: au Musée de Troyes'', Musée Saint-Loup, Troyes, 1993.
External links
"Artisanat Mérovingienne Illustrates gold hilt and cloisonné jewels from the Treasure of Pouan
Treasure troves of France, Pouan
Treasure troves of Medieval Europe
Archaeological sites in France, Pouan
