Le trésor de Vaise

This set combines objects of various kinds: statuettes, crockery, coins and jewelry. Two distinct deposits were found under the floor of a house. One contained three statuettes of divinities in gilded silver plate (Apollo, Fortune and a bird goddess), a small male bust (emperor?), various fragments of statuettes and two silver bracelets. The other, three silver dishes, a batch of 14 spoons and 81 silver coins, as well as jewelry: a necklace (gold and emerald), two gold bracelets, two pairs of earrings (gold, emerald and gemstones), two gold rings and a gold coin mounted as a pendant (aureus of Gordian III, struck in 242). Numismatic study allows us to date the burial of this deposit to the 260s.

Shelter!

Rassembling various objects, the Vaise treasure [Lyon 9th arrondissement] consists of two deposits discovered on the edge of the ancient city, in the remains of a suburban Gallo-Roman villa. The term "treasure" is defined not by its preciousness, but rather by a desire to store goods, keeping them safe from threat. Also, the Vaise treasure, including elements of statuettes, silver tableware and coins, as well as gold jewelry, can be associated with an episode of crises. According to the analysis of the coins, one of the possible hypotheses is that of a treasure amassed by a Roman soldier dating from shortly after the year 268. This date would then be in the middle of the "Cyprian plague", but also in a context of barbarian invasions and military anarchy. Beyond its value, this treasure is therefore above all a witness to a period of rare violence.