In September 1993, a historic event occurred in the German city of Trier, when construction work was taking place on the hospital parking lot in Feldstrasse, near the Roman bridge under construction. This city, Augusta Treverorum, was founded by the Romans around 16 BC and from that time it has preserved many historical monuments, such as Porta Nigra. People are not surprised to find Roman walls and arches in the parking lot.
However, construction work was not interrupted and on September 9, the coin collection team examining the earth discovered several Roman gold coins. Work continued, and after a short time they discovered a wonderful treasure: 1,389 Roman aurei coins, in use until 309 AD.
However, they did not stop there, the same evening, in a room in the basement, they discovered another copper vase containing another 561 gold coins. This is where all the coins from the original excavation were kept and the ship that broke the vase that afternoon.
Back on the afternoon of September 9, excavated soil from Feldstrasse was reused in the parking lot of the Kockelsberg hotel, rumors of treasure among the ruins excited many people. As a result, an excavation took place and in the end, they found another 400 gold coins and the top of a bronze vase.
On the morning of September 10, 19 people handed over a total of 2,650 aurei, the largest treasure trove of gold coins since the Roman Empire, to the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Trier. It is worth noting that all these coins weigh about 18.5 kg and were minted between 63 and 168 AD, accounting for more than 99% of all gold from that period found to date. .
It is unclear who the owner of this treasure is, possibly an individual or the city’s royal government. There is speculation that this may be part of the ruins of the nearby temple of Asclepius. Interestingly, this treasure may be related to the war between emperor Septimius Severus and his rival Clodius Albinus in 193 AD. The owner probably hid the treasure at that time and never returned to retrieve it, possibly because he died or ran away. This event brings people back to an important part of Roman history and enriches knowledge about the culture and economy of the ancient period.