11 Too Big to Study? Troppo grandi da studiare?

Are thorough studies of monetary ‘mega-hoards’ scientifically and economically profitable? After defining the differences between ‘large treasures’ and statistically ‘normal’ ones one may wonder what the study of these finds, a thing which is often cumbersome, actually brings to the world of numismatics. Their internal structures often differ little from that of smaller deposits. Moreover, they do not appear to bring any more interesting/ rarer-types than smaller finds, nor scattered individual coins from archaeological sites. Their interest lies elsewhere. Larger hoards can contribute to metrological studies, on the origin of the metals and the composition of the alloys used. One must ask the question on the identity (or identities) of the original owners and on the purpose for such an accumulation of coins. A hypothesis of ‘speculative manipulation’ of money can be put forward. Indeed, a mapping of the ‘mega-hoards’ of Late Antiquity clearly demonstrates that a trade of currencies existed by sea. Given the costs, both human and financial, of the studies of these large hoards and the future development of imaging and management of hoards on a large scale, it seems perhaps more appropriate to focus on specific issues; international cooperation within the framework of such hoards should be advanced in order to conserve a consistent approach to their study.

The Frome Hoard of 52,503 coins, discovered in 2010, is the second largest Roman coin hoard found in Britain. Not only is it of great numismatic significance, with over 850 pieces of Carausius (AD 286-93), but also it has had an enormous impact on broader archaeological and museological practices. The hoard was discovered by a metal detectorist, Dave Crisp, but he left the pot in the ground for professional excavation. This provided invaluable context for the hoard and enabled numismatists to determine that the hoard was buried in a single event. The sudden arrival of the coins at the British Museum was a catalyst for the Roman Coin and Metals Conservation sections at the British Museum to develop a new way of processing the 80 or so hoards which arrive annually. The apparent ritual significance of the hoard led to much academic and popular debate, resulting in a major Arts and Humanities Research Council research project between Leicester University and the British Museum. The worldwide publicity concerning the hoard enabled a major fund-raising campaign which secured the coins for the Museum of Somerset in Taunton. The high profile of the hoard also resulted in a British Museum video-conferencing activity for school children. Finally, the good practice of Dave Crisp, in calling for professional assistance, has resulted in numerous detectorists leaving hoards in the ground for archaeologists to excavate.

We present here the challenges involved in the study of a 4th century hoard discovered in 2011 in Saint-Germain-de-Varreville (Manche, France). Exceptionally preserved and offering an abundance and an impressive interlacing of circa 14500 coins, the Saint-Germain-de-Varreville hoard appears as a completely original field of study to broaden the scope of numismatists. Our perspective is deliberately open, combining numismatics, archaeology, archaeometry and digital humanities, in order to progress in the writing of a history that would be as attentive to monetary production as to hoarding practices.

One of the rare big treasures of North Africa. The treasure of El Jem constitutes the second important deposit of quantitative point of view after Musurata (120.000), then comes in third place the treasure of Mangub B with a capacity of 20.313 currencies ranging from 296 to 311. Discovered in El Jem in 1973 in a terracotta jar with a flat bottom. It is one of those hoardings of the 3rd quarter of the 3rd century (reign of Valerian-reign of Probus) constituted exclusively of Antoniniani with a large proportion of the coins of consecration of Claude II (nearly 54%). In 2009 and after a trip to El Jem to do the expertise, the report was twofold: a large number of coins scattered between two museums: fraction I at the Museum of El Jem, fraction II at the National Museum of Bardo, a single researcher will take care of the inventory and study to know me; finally the absence of any implementation of a Collective Research Project lack of resources... The company looks very difficult but we have composed with the means to produce a general inventory of currencies. It was in the framework of the seminar "Troppo grown up for the studiati" that we presented the way in which we could count, inventory and the beginnings of the study of this treasure while emphasizing the realities political and economic aspects of a country like Tunisia which often determine the management of its heritage.

The Čentur’s hoard is well known in the numismatic literature as a result of a long series of finds that have been carried out over more than 20 years, all in the same site. Recently, some researchers have hypothesized that the discovery was unique, happened in the same period, but disclosed over the years mainly for reasons related to the geopolitical situation along the border between Italy and Yugoslavia. With the aim of trying to re-establish the missing part, a free-access database was planned to collect all the reliable and verified information. Some preliminary examples of this project suggest promising results.