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| Silver treasure | |
| CONCEALED - FORGOTTEN - REDISCOVERED The fate of the most important Late Antique silver treasure worldwide could not have been any more exciting! The precious silver had been hoarded by Roman officers over an extended period of time. Amassed from imperial gifts and from inheritances, the treasure constituted considerable wealth. However, at a moment of imminent danger, in advance of an attack by the Alamanni on the fort in Kaiseraugst, the valuables had to be buried in great haste inside the fort wall. The owners were probably subsequently killed, and the treasure then fell into oblivion - until awoken from its slumber by a mechanical excavator on a cold winter's day in 1961, its adventurous story of discovery was kick-started. |
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| The discovery December 1961. A mechanical excavator is levelling the area beside the school building in Kaiseraugst. Unbeknown to the driver, the bucket rips the treasure out of the ground: part of it lands in the field, part of it on a spoil heap. Figure: During its unintentional retrieval, this bowl was hacked into several pieces by the excavator. Intertwined filler motifs such as those seen here on the central medallion were popular elements in Late Antique decoration. Diameter 42.8 cm; Weight (without restored areas): 1570 g. |
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| The archaeologists were not called to the site until two months later. During the
course of this initial inspection, the landlady of the nearby restaurant brought along
five platters and asked the two experts if these were of any use to them. A further
platter was found in the possession of a family, who had been seen gathering objects
at the site, and the last item was rescued from the rubbish pit of the school. Figure: Marie Schmid-Leuenberger, who lived right beside the school playground, presenting several platters, which she had gathered up from the spoil heap. |
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| It quickly became apparent that part of the treasure was missing. The weight of the
digger had pressed some of the vessels down onto other artefacts underneath,
leaving imprints of the edges of their footrings on the surfaces. 18 further silver vessels from an anonymous inheritance were bequeathed to officials of Canton Argovia in 1995. These artefacts were identified as part of the treasure, as they included pieces of objects that had been found in a fragmented state back in 1962. The vessel, which left its imprint on the Achilles platter, however, is missing to this day: the treasure is still incomplete. Figure: The Kaiseraugst silver treasure consists of 270 artefacts made of pure silver and weighs a total of 58 kilograms. |
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| The restorations The execution of a restoration always reflects the time in which it was carried out. In the case of the initial part of the silver treasure, the main intention was to present the precious artefacts to the public in their former glory. The individual objects were cleaned and - where necessary - reshaped. Thirty years later, the artefacts that were only returned into public ownership in 1995, raised the question as to how they should be restored. Nowadays it is no longer the main objective to present the objects as 'brand new'. Rather, one attempts to take into account the history of the artefacts. In the case of the Kaiseraugst silver, this in fact means: in Roman times, the artefacts were wrapped in hay and buried; in the 20th century, they were ripped out of the ground by a mechanical excavator. In order to show these 'life phases', a specially appointed restoration committee decided that the main focus in the case of the second part of the treasure should be placed on the prevention of further decay, while refraining from restoring the artefacts to their former state. This resulted in a collection consisting of the artefacts from the first part, highly polished and directly conveying Late Antique splendour. The second part shows the traces of the hay wrappings and therefore the care with which the treasure was once buried, but also the rough treatment the artefacts received when they were exposed by the digger. Figures Top: Restored in the 60s and reshaped to reflect as closely as possible their original state: the ocean city platter. Diameter: 59 cm; weight: 4749 g. Partially gold-plated and nielloed. Bottom: The experts of the 90s decided to conserve, however, not to restore the objects. Thus, the Constans platter exhibits all too clearly the traces of damage inflicted by the excavator. Diameter: 55.8 cm; weight: 3976.9 g. |
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| The exhibitions | ||
| The first part of the silver treasure, i.e. the artefacts retrieved by the archaeologists in 1961/62, was presented to the public in 1964 in a purpose-built treasure chamber in the
Roman Museum. A large special exhibition took place in 1984 in the Historical Museum in Basle. In 1997, the second part of the treasure was displayed in the Argovia Art
Museum before its conservation. The new artefacts were subsequently conserved and studied. This resulted in a new and differentiated interpretation of the collection and the
unique significance of the treasure became even more apparent. The exhibition aims to convey the scientific insight gained from the silver treasure. Not only can the artefacts be presented as a unit for the first time since they were concealed 1,650 years ago. The marvellous bowls and dishes, the artistic tableware, and the coins and medallions in mint condition also shed light in a unique way on the turbulent times of radical change at the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. We are very lucky to be able to see the largest silver treasure dating from Late Antiquity at its find location. Moreover, the known historical events and the stamps on the silver ingots together provide evidence of the time at which the treasure was buried. Incised inscriptions on some of the artefacts allow us to trace the career of an officer in the Roman army, grass imprints relate information about the vegetation of the time, while inscriptions provide exact dates for the bestowal of the objects. In summary, we can now state beyond any doubt that the treasure cannot have only included the luxurious tableware of one particular Roman officer, but rather that it consisted of valuables amassed by Roman military personnel over the course of several years. | ||
| The imagery of Late Antique aristocracy as reflected by the Kaiseraugst silver treasure | ||
| Achilles platter (central medallion) The relief images on the Achilles platter depict the Greek hero as a youth before his participation in the Trojan War. The heroic and youthful persona of Achilles - similar to that of Alexander the Great - reflects the ideal of the aristocratic view of life in terms of beauty and virtue. Central medallion of the Achilles platter: The cunning Odysseus (2nd fr. r.) surprises the Greek hero Achilles (2nd fr. l.), who disguised himself in girls' clothing so that he wouldn't have to take part in the Trojan War. Diameter of the platter: 53 cm; weight: 4642 g. |
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| Ocean city platter (central medallion) The motif of a seaside villa in Antiquity stood for a happy and carefree life - and this in times of grave crises. It is probably for this reason that the subject played an important role in aristocratic self-portrayal. Diameter of the platter: 59 cm; weight: 4749 g. Partially gold-plated and nielloed. |
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| Constans platter: central medallion (top); small portrait head (bottom). A gift from the emperor: the inscription around the central medallion states that the platter was a gift to mark the 10th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Constans in 342/343. Therefore, the platter and its splendid central medallion not only show the craftsmanship of the time but are also an invaluable source of historical information. The depiction of a youth on the rim of the vessel may be viewed as the Late Antique equivalent of the "jeunesse dorée" ("gilded youth"). Total diameter of the platter: 55.8 cm; weight: 3976.9 g. |
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The silver treasure tour "Bestowed - buried - forgotten" |
The silver treasure after the snow melted in January 1962 (staged find situation) | |
| Picture orders (print or digital) [PDF; 1 MB] | ||
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