
The Seuso Treasure or Sevso Treasure ( hu, Seuso-kincsek; hr, Seusovo blago), is a
hoard
A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...
of
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
objects (14 items) from the late
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...
. The first pieces appeared on the market in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1980, and the treasure was acquired by a consortium headed by
Spencer Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton
Spencer "Spenny" Douglas David Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton (born 2 April 1946) is a British peer.
Family
Compton is the son of the Most Hon. William Compton, 6th Marquess of Northampton and Virginia Lucie Compton, ''née'' Heaton. The ...
. Documentation was provided in which it was stated that it had been found in the Tyre and Sidon regions of
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
. It was put up for sale in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
in 1990 by
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
, but was halted when the documentation was found to be false, and the governments of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...
,
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
(now
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
) and
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
made claims of ownership. The claims of ownership by these countries were rejected by a US court, and the treasure remained in the possession of the Marquess of Northampton.
Scotland Yard still has an open case on the matter.
The origin and
provenance
Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...
of the treasure are likely known, but not publicly acknowledged. There is much scientific evidence to indicate that the hoard was first acquired in the 1970s after the murder of a Hungarian soldier, who discovered the treasure during illicit digging at an established archaeological site in Hungary.
On 26 March 2014
Prime Minister of Hungary
The prime minister of Hungary ( hu, Magyarország miniszterelnöke) is the head of government of Hungary. The prime minister and the Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Parliament, to their political part ...
Viktor Orbán
Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz since 1993, with a brief break between 2 ...
announced that half of the Seuso Treasure (seven items) had been bought by Hungary.
The Prime Minister described it as "Hungary's family silverware". In June 2017 the remaining seven artifacts also returned to Hungary, being bought for €28 million.
Contents
The
treasure trove
A treasure trove is an amount of money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground or in places such as cellars or attics, where the treasure seems old enough for it to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the he ...
consists of fourteen large decorated silver vessels and the copper cauldron which contained them, and has been dated to the late-fourth or early-fifth century AD. Most notable is a large dish, 70 cm in diameter and weighing nearly 9 kg, which bears the inscription:
: ''Hec Seuso tibi durent per saecula multa''
: ''Posteris ut prosint vascula digna tuis''
: May these, O Seuso, yours for many ages be
: Small vessels fit to serve your offspring worthily.
Discovery

The hoard first came to attention in 1980, when a single piece in the possession of two antiquities dealers from
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
was offered for sale in London. Further pieces reached the market, and what is believed to be the complete hoard was acquired by a consortium headed by
Spencer Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton
Spencer "Spenny" Douglas David Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton (born 2 April 1946) is a British peer.
Family
Compton is the son of the Most Hon. William Compton, 6th Marquess of Northampton and Virginia Lucie Compton, ''née'' Heaton. The ...
.
[Antiques Trade Gazette](_blank)
, 30 September 2006. Documentation supplied by the Lebanese embassy in Switzerland stated that the treasure had originally been found in the
Tyre
Tyre most often refers to:
* Tire, the outer part of a wheel
* Tyre, Lebanon, a Mediterranean city
Tyre or Tyres may also refer to:
Other places Lebanon
* Tyre District
* See of Tyre, a Christian diocese
*Tyre Hippodrome, a UNESCO World Heritag ...
and
Sidon
Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast ...
regions of Lebanon, and on that basis the consortium negotiated to sell the collection to the
Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa.
The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
for $10 million. When that deal fell through, the treasure was put up for sale in New York in 1990 by
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
, and was described as being from "what was once the province of
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
in the
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
".
Legal dispute
The sale was halted when documentation was thought to be false, and the governments of Hungary, Yugoslavia and Lebanon each made claims of ownership. Hungarian authorities claim that the treasure was discovered by a young soldier, József Sümegh, in around 1975–76 near the town of
Polgárdi
Polgárdi is a town in Fejér county, Hungary, reportedly the site where the Sevso Treasure was discovered.
Geography
Polgárdi is located at an altitude of about 144 metres, about 12 kilometres northeast of Lake Balaton, a resort area in wes ...
in central Hungary. Sümegh's body was found in a nearby cellar in 1980. The official investigation at the time determined that he had committed suicide, but the police later concluded that he had been killed.
As of 2012 the criminal investigation into his death is still ongoing.
Yugoslavia's case was based on claims that the treasure had been originally found on 30 June 1960 in the village of
Barbariga Barbariga can refer to:
* Barbariga, Croatia, a village in Croatia
* Barbariga, Lombardy, a ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia, Italy
{{geodis