Part of the hoard which includes 15 silver Roman coins, two silver vessels and a pottery vessel. They are from a deposit which, at the time of the discovery, consisted of several thousand (presumably from 3,000 to 9,000) coins weighing ca. 10 kg stored in several vessels. A gold medal of the Roman emperor, Jovian, struck in AD 363 at Constantinople, was probably also in the hoard. It has a richly ornamented frame and an eye in a Pontic style.
Denari of Trajan (from AD 98/99) is the oldest of the coins presented. Another 13 coins were also struck by emperors of the Antonin dynasty: Antoninus Pius (four objects from AD 140-160), Lucius Verus (seven objects from AD 161/2-167/8) and Commodus (two objects from AD 192). The youngest is a denarius from the beginning of the reign of Septimius Severus (AD 194).
The first silver vessel is a decorated amphora without handles. The body and the neck have ornament of acanthus leaves and a top of the neck – scales. The amphora is made of metal sheet. The second silver vessel is probably part of a destroyed pitcher. Its middle part survived – an oval shape belly made of thin metal sheet. Traces of deposited coins are visible inside. The coins were also stored in a small biconical hand-shaped bowl with two handles made from clay.
The hoard was found by chance on June 14, 1928 during the construction of the railway line, close to Borochice-Horochów station. Several artefacts (the medal of Jovian) were found on the spoil heap. The deposit got partly scattered and destroyed. By the judgment of the Lviv District Court, the recovered objects were taken to the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw. During World War II they were stolen and taken away by the occupants. They were recovered in 1992. Currently the collection held by the State Archaeological Museum contains 1,685 denarii, two silver vessels, a pottery vessel and two fragments of a pitcher handle. Some of donated in 1928 denarii can also be found in the Lviv Historical Museum and perhaps in the Lubomirski Museum of the National Ossoliński Institute.
Chronology:
Denarii are dated to the 1st – 2nd centuries AD, with the majority from the second half of the 2nd century AD. Nevertheless, the medal of Jovian from AD 363 as well as the dating of two silver vessels (the 4th century AD) and the pottery vessel (the 5th century AD) indicates that the hoard was deposited at the beginning of the 5th century AD
Museum collection:
the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw
by M. Widawski
