They demolished the old theater, found a pot of gold. The story is almost fabulous: someone will remember the leprechauns, someone - Buratino, but since it happens in Italy, the gold (almost predictably) turned out to be Roman, and the "pot" - a capacious stone amphora.
Opening address - Italy, Lombardy, Como, Cressoni Theater. Rather, the former theater: the historic building of 1870 had been abandoned for twenty years already, and the authorities gave permission to demolish it for the construction of luxury housing (the facade, however, must be preserved). However, now the future owners of the prestigious real estate will have to wait: all work stopped after the builders found a cracked vessel filled to the brim with gold coins under the ruins of the theater.
Teatro Cressoni in Como.
Hall of the Cressoni Theater in Como.
This vessel alone would have been enough to stop construction: the archaeologists who arrived at the site immediately noted its unusual shape, reminiscent of an amphora or a burial urn with two handles and a lid, as well as material unconventional for amphorae - the vessel turned out to be not clay, but stone carved from steatite (soapstone).
Amphora found under the ruins of the theater.
The contents of the found amphora.
Nevertheless, the attention of archaeologists predictably quickly switched from the vessel to its contents. None of the local experts have seen so many gold coins: hoards of this size and value have never been found in northern Italy before.
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According to archaeologists, the media have already reported that the vessel contains about 300 Roman solidi of the 5th century AD. Gold solidi (from Lat. Solidus - solid, strong, massive) were the most valuable, most reliable monetary unit of the Roman Empire - both Western and, later, Eastern. In the 5th century, one solidus, for example, could buy several hundred pounds of grain.
Coins from Como have the standard weight that every decent solid should be: 4.55 grams. Despite their venerable age, they are perfectly preserved, the images on the obverse and reverse are clearly visible, and, most likely, there will be no problems with the dating of the treasure.
Italian journalists have calculated that the total value of the coins found may exceed a million euros, and this does not take into account the value of the vessel, which also has considerable historical value, and other items that may be inside.
Gold solidi found in Como.
However, these calculations are somewhat premature: the vessel and its golden contents were only recently transported to the state restoration center in Milan, where the find will be carefully studied, Science Alert reports.
Conservation, restoration and laboratory studies of the finds may take longer than usual: it turned out that the solids were “packed” into dense piles with the help of some kind of organic material that had decomposed over the centuries. The coins will have to be removed one at a time, separating them from the rest with great care.
So far, scientists have been able to successfully extract only 27 coins out of the estimated three hundred. All of them were minted in the 5th century under five different emperors. The list of rulers in chronological order looks like this: Honorius (reigned 395-423), Valentinian III (425-455), Liby Sever (461-465), Anthemius (467-472) and Leo I Makella (457-474), emperor Eastern Roman Empire.
Several of the 27 coins recovered from the amphora.
Thus, among the 27 coins, there are none under the age of 474. In 476, as you know, the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist, and this makes the find extremely interesting: until recently, it was believed that cash flows in the economy of the agonizing empire had significantly decreased, and such a fantastic amount of gold was simply unimaginable. However, finds such as the one from Como are gradually forcing historians to reconsider their theories.
All this raises legitimate questions: who, why and under what circumstances hid the gigantic fortune under the future former theater?
Press conference and presentation of the find to the press.
The researchers say that the place of the find seemed to them "strange", inappropriate. The main version to date was voiced by Maria Grazia Facchinetti, an expert on rare and ancient coins: “The coins were hidden in such a way and in such a place where you could quickly get and quickly take out the treasure in case of danger”. In other words, it was a cache in a conspicuous place (for example, the "Dutch" solidi were hidden in an ancient burial mound, which served as an excellent landmark in the area) with quick access.
“It is impossible to imagine that such an incredible amount of gold belonged to one individual. Most likely, these were "budgetary", state funds, a certain deposit intended for public needs, and we have already found several clues confirming this. Continued excavation may provide us with new clues,”said Luca Rinaldi, Superintendent of the Archaeological Heritage of Lombardy.
One such tip is packing coins in a jar. The solids were not in bulk, but in neat piles wrapped in organic material - this is reminiscent of the modern banking method of packaging coins. In addition to coins, the researchers found a small gold ingot in the vessel, which can also speak of the official, rather than private, origin of the treasure.
The organic material that wrapped the stacks of coins has decayed over time.
On the other hand, in Roman times, not far from the "theater" was the city forum - the main business platform for merchants, priests and other wealthy citizens who needed to store large cash somewhere. However, the version of a lonely curmudgeon shaking over his gold is also not ruled out.
The most promising clue lies in the history of the city. The colony Novum Comum on the western shore of Lake Larius (now Lake Como) was founded by Julius Caesar himself, having granted Roman citizenship to all local residents. This was the territory of Cisalpine (pre-Alpine) Gaul, from which it follows that the Alps and the paths to new lands are very close (from modern Como to the Swiss border, only 6 km), and the local inhabitants were Gauls, they are also Celts - old, but successfully conquered opponents of Rome.
In the five centuries that have passed since the founding of the colony, much has changed in Como, except for its strategic location on a large lake in the foothills of the Alps. Army units were stationed in the city to protect the northern approaches to the center of the empire and guard the roads leading through the Alps. And also here was the prefect of the fleet of Como (Classis Comensis), one of the "freshwater" units of the fleet of the Roman Empire.
It is very likely that the gold found under the theater was intended to pay salaries to "soldiers and sailors" who stood guard over the borders of the Roman homeland in times of troubles. But the fate of the empire was already sealed.
Now historians are trying to reconstruct the history of the place where the coins were found. The Cressoni Theater was built in 1870, and earlier, from about 1300 to 1700, there was a church and a monastery here. It is surprising that the construction of the past centuries did not affect the cache chosen by the Romans, which turned out to be an extremely reliable storage facility. Archaeologists hint that when examining the construction site, they found traces of Roman buildings, but what exactly is not yet reported.
Construction site on the site of the Teatro Cressoni in Como.
In addition to coins and a gold bar, two artifacts were found in the vessel, without details. However, further "analysis" of the contents of the vessel may reveal other valuable items that can clarify the history of the treasure. The researchers promise to do a layer-by-layer analysis of the contents of the vessel to find out exactly how the coins ended up inside: at the same time or they were put in the "safe" for some time.
“The historical and cultural significance of the find is undeniable, but we do not yet know all the details. However, these sites turned out to be a real treasure for archaeologists, and this discovery was another reason for pride,”said Alberto Bonisoli, Minister of Cultural Heritage, Cultural Activities and Tourism of Italy, who arrived in Como on the occasion.
It is not known what the representatives of the developer company think: instead of elite housing on the ruins of the Cressoni Theater, the authorities plan to organize large-scale archaeological excavations.
Maria Myasnikova
