The Beaurains Treasure (or Arras Treasure) is the name of an important Roman hoard found in Beaurains, a suburb of the city of

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

, northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1922. Soon after its discovery, much of the treasure was dispersed, to be sold on the antiquities market. The largest portion of the hoard can be found in the local museum in Arras and in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Discovery

The treasure was accidentally discovered inside a

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

vessel during building work at Beaurains,

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

on 21 September 1922. Two Belgian workmen were digging for clay when they unearthed the treasure a short depth underground. Unfortunately, much of the treasure disappeared overnight and a great part of it was sold on the

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean such as the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt, and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures such as Ancient Persia (Iran). Artifact ...

market. Items from the Beaurains Treasure are now found in collections worldwide, but the two institutions with the greatest proportions of the hoard are the Musée d'Arras and the

Description

The Beaurains Treasure is principally composed of coins, although other luxury items are included in the hoard. There are twenty-three pieces of

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

(necklaces, bracelets, earrings, buckles, finger rings, cameos and pendants), silver objects (a lamp stand or candelabra, two spoons and an

ingot An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is Casting, cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedu ...

) and 472 coins that were kept in a (now lost) silver container, including at least 25 gold medallions issued during the reign of

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

. The medallions were minted in

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and were probably gifts received by the owner of the treasure during his career as officer of the imperial army between 285 and 310 A.D. Their value ranges from four to ten

aurei The ''aureus'' ( ''aurei'', 'golden') was the main gold coin of ancient Rome from the 1st century BC to the early 4th century AD, when it was replaced by the ''solidus (coin), solidus''. This type of coin was sporadically issued during the Roman ...

, and from one and a half to nine solidi. One of the medallions was issued to celebrate the reconquest of

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

by Constantius I in 296 A.D, the reverse of which is denoted by an image of

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Roman conquest of Brit ...

, represented by a woman welcoming the Emperor on her knees outside the city walls. The original is kept in Arras, with a copy in the British Museum.British Museum Collectio
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Gallery

Image:Beaurains Treasure (2).JPG, Various necklaces and bracelets from the treasure displayed in the British Museum Image:Beaurains Treasure (3).JPG, Bracelets, cameos and pendants inset with precious stones Image:Beaurains Treasure (4).JPG, Detail of one of the

bracelets A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, ...

set with emeralds, garnets, amethysts and glass Image:Beaurains Treasure (5).JPG, Gold and silver coins and one of the gold

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

s from the find Image:Constantius I capturing London after defeating Allectus Beaurains hoard.jpg, Copy of the famous gold medallion of

Constantius Chlorus Flavius Valerius Constantius ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was a Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as Caesar (title), ''caesar'' ...

capturing

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in the British Museum

Discovery

Description

See also

Gallery

References

Further reading