The Berthouville Treasure

The Berthouville treasure is a hoard of Roman silver uncovered by a farmer ploughing in March 1830 at the hamlet of Villeret in Berthouville, Normandy, northern France. The treasure belonged to a sanctuary of Mercury Canetonensis. In the mid-1st century BCE, Julius Caesar had identified Mercury as one of the main deities of Gaul.

A cache of pearl and emerald-encrusted rings, bracelets, gold necklaces and other opulent objects from the Roman Empire were displayed at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades in 2015. The assortment of precious jewelry accompanies the 90-piece gilt-silver Berthouville Treasure of statuettes and ornamental vessels. The treasure consists of silver and other metalwork and dates to the 1st to late 2nd centuries

The restored treasure was exhibited at the Getty Villa from November 2014 to August 2015, then went on tour in the US and Europe before being returned to Paris.

Cameo of Emperor Trajan, Roman, about A.D. 100; sardonyx set in a seventeeth-century gold, enamel, and ruby mount

Pitcher with Scenes from the Trojan War, Roman, A.D. 1-100; silver and gold. Achilles dragging the body of Hector around the walls of Troy

Pitcher with Scenes from the Trojan War (detail), Roman, A.D. 1-100; silver and gold. The death of Achilles

Offering Bowl with a Medallion of Mercury in a Rural Shrine (detail), Roman, A.D. 175-225; silver and gold

Caligae

Roman caligae were the heavy-soled, hobnailed military sandal-boots famously worn by legionary soldiers and auxiliaries throughout the Roman Republic and Empire. Their durable design allowed soldiers to march long distances in diverse climates without blistering or overheating. Dozens of iron nails were hammered through the sole. The iron hobnails drastically reduced wear and provided excellent traction on soft, slippery, or uneven ground.

The nails acted like cleats on rough, muddy, or sandy terrain and provided an offensive advantage in close-quarters combat. Roman soldiers were called caligati. ("booted ones") Emperor Caligula got his famous nickname "Little Boot" because his parents dressed him in miniature soldier's armor including caligae as a toddler. The distinctive clattering and crunching sound of thousands of hobnailed sandals marching in unison struck fear into Rome's enemies.

By the late 1st century, the Roman military began transitioning toward enclosed leather boots, known as calcei, which offered better protection in harsh and cold environments.

Alexander the Great's gold distater

The Kingdom of Macedon gold distater is a trophy coin for collectors. Rare, rich in detail, and resonant with the mythos of Alexander the Great, they are always in demand. This circa 325 to 323 B.C. gold distater of Alexander III (the Great) was issued in either Aegae or Amphipolis and was likely used to pay soldiers. A distater was equivalent to about 20 day’s wages for a Macedonian soldier in wartime, a huge sum. The coin weighed about 17.22 grams.

Alexander the Great, born in 356 BC, was one of the most successful military leaders in history. He conquered a large part of Asia and ruled a kingdom that spanned from the Ionian sea to the Himalayas before he was 30 years old. One of his many achievements was a single currency across his empire. Flush with Persian gold he struck the largest Greek gold coin issued up to that time: the gold distater. Alexander the Great was determined to outdo the hero Hercules. Athena was the protector of Hercules, and Alexander adopted her image on his gold coinage, showing her wearing a Corinthian helmet with a coiled snake.

Sarcophagus of King Abdalonymos of Sidon

The reverse is represents Nike, the goddess of victory. Gold distaters were very valuable. This was inconvenient for daily use, so most were melted down. Staters weighed roughly 8.6g of .997 fine purity. Exceptional examples are always in high demand. Coins that were struck during his reign (lifetime issues) are the most desirable by collectors and the rarest.

A top quality Alexander the Great gold distater will bring $50,000.

Athenian tetradrachm

Athenians struck their first coins circa 560 BCE with the first tetradrachms appearing around 515 BCE. The obverse of the first Athenian tetradrachm depicts the head of a Gorgon, which Athena created. Athena’s uncle Poseidon raped the priestess Medusa in Athena’s temple; Athena was outraged over the desecration, but she had no power over the god of the sea so she instead punished Medusa, turning her into a Gorgon, a monster with snakes for hair.

Athenians struck the first of their iconic “Owl” Tetradrachms around 510 BCE. The obverse portrays the helmeted head of Athena while the reverse depicts Athena’s owl and a sprig of olive, with the inscription AΘE (an abbreviation of AΘENAION, meaning “of the Athenians”). The owl is closely associated with Athena as the goddess of wisdom.

Early Tetradrachm. c. 475-465 BCE.

Athens became extremely wealthy due to the vast veins of silver ore found in the mines of Laurion. This led to the Athenian mint churning out huge numbers of tetradrachms. They became the world's first trade currency. Athens entered a period where it was the principal city of the Greek world.

The Athenian Owl tetradrachm was minted for over 400 years. The Athenian Owl gained widespread use due to it's high silver content and high production. The Athenian government minted coins at a profit, building state coffers. As the mines of Laurion were eventually depleted, Athen's wealth and influence fell.

Despite the coin’s many revisions, the general design remained the same. The obverse depicts the Greek goddess Athena, who represents wisdom and warfare. The ideals are portrayed in Athena’s large eyes, representing wisdom, and her crested war helmet, representing war. The Owl appears with two-leaf olive sprig, representing olives and olive oil, the primary exports of Athens.

The Athenian Owl tetradrachm was the dominant currency in the ancient world until Roman coinage replaced it in the 1st century B.C.

House of the Tragic Poet

VI.8.5 Pompeii. The House of the Tragic Poet is a Roman house in Pompeii famous for its elaborate mosaic floors and frescoes depicting scenes from Greek mythology. The house itself is not remarkable, but its interior decorations are not only numerous but of the highest quality among all others from ancient Pompeii. The mismatch between the size of the house and the quality of its decoration has been pondered. Little is known about the lives of the homeowners. The house originally contained more than twenty painted and mosaic panels, six of which have been relocated to the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

The House of the Tragic Poet was discovered in 1824 by archaeologist Antonio Bonucci.

The house faced the Via di Nola, one of Pompeii's largest streets that linked the forum and the Street of the Tombs.

Siberian archaeologists unearth 2,500 yo Scythian grave

Archaeologists in Siberia unearthed a 2,500-year-old grave of an ancient couple in 2020.

Both are believed to have died in their 30s and were buried together with a month old newborn and an elderly woman. The couple are thought to be spouses, the elderly woman might have been their servant as she had no valuables. Remains of the baby were scattered throughout the grave, most likely due to rodents eating the flesh. All of the people from the grave are from the Tagar culture that was part of the Scythian civilization.An impressive set of weaponry was found including close fight weapons in a female grave, which is not typical. Women Scythian warriors typically used long range bows and arrows. The woman had a battle axe so she was a part of a warrior elite.

Archaeologists found bronze daggers, knives, and axes. The grave also held bronze mirrors and a tiny comb made from an animal horn. Experts think all four may have died at the same time, from the same illness or infection. Some larger ceramic vessels, filled with mutton and beef, were also discovered in the grave. In that time period, people were buried with goods and food as it was believed it assisted the trip to the afterlife. Herodotus, an Ancient Greek historian, left records of the Scythians and their young female warriors. Physician Hippocrates later wrote that a young woman would cease being a fighter after “she takes to herself a husband.”

Ancient Roman gold

Claudius. With Agrippina. Very fine to extremely fine. Estimate: 8,500 euros. Claudius ruled from 41 to 54 CE and married his niece Agrippina the Younger in 49 CE, a union that heavily shaped the final years of his reign. Agrippina was a powerful, ambitious figure. Her marriage to Claudius cemented her status, and she convinced him to grant her the title of Augusta. Agrippina persuaded Claudius to adopt her son, Nero, bypassing Claudius's own biological son, Britannicus.

Vespasian, 69-79. Aureus. Probably from the find of Bosco Reale hoard. Extremely fine. Estimate: 5,000 euros. Vespasian rose from the Year of 4 emperors to found the Flavian dynasty. He ruled from AD 69 to 79. Many coins from the Bosco Reale hoard show distinctive toning. Volcanic heat and sulfur reacted with the copper and silver alloy inside the gold, leaving a fiery auburn or violet-red surface tint. This doesn't detract from the coin's value to collectors.

Nerva aureus. Extremely fine. Estimate: 10,000 euros. Marcus Cocceius Nerva ruled as Roman Emperor from AD 96 to 98, marking the start of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty and the era of the Five Good Emperors. The Senate proclaimed Nerva emperor on September 18, AD 96, immediately following the assassination of Domitian. Facing a mutiny by the Praetorian Guard, Nerva adopted popular military commander Trajan as his heir in AD 97, continuing Rome's golden age.

Antoninus Pius, 138-161. Aureus. About mint state. Estimate: 5,000 euros. Antoninus Pius was a benevolent Roman emperor who ruled from 138 to 161 AD as the fourth of the Five Good Emperors. His 23-year reign provided very rare stability and prosperity across the empire.

500 BC Celtic tomb reveals gold

In 2015 French archaeologists completed excavations of an ancient burial site revealing the decorated skeleton of a Celtic prince. The tomb was discovered in an industrial area of Lavau, a village near Troyes, about 150km southeast of Paris. The find was described as extraordinary by experts. Buried with a two-wheeled chariot, the body is believed to be a high ranking aristocrat from the Hallstatt culture that dominated central Europe during the Early Iron Age.

Well-preserved Greek and Etruscan relics were found, including a bronze cauldron, decorated by Dionysus' head, at the centre of a 40m-diameter burial mound. Bronze dinner sets, delicately decorated ceramic platters, elaborate Greek vases and, finally, the deceased's remains, resting on his ornate chariot and still wearing his gold. He was dubbed the Lavau Prince. He was in his forties, in good health and tall. His only injury was a broken collarbone. His name will probably never be known because Celtic cultures left no written records.

The skeleton sported ancient pieces of jewellery including a richly decorated gold torque weighing more than half a kilogram and gold bracelets. Remains of the deceased's clothing, such as shoe parts, finely worked amber beads that formed a necklace or hair decoration, and iron and coral hooks that attached to a piece of clothing were also retrieved.

The Greek vase held a secret. It once contained red wine, produced in the city of Marseilles or in Italy and costly to import.