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Description
In 2015, a Roman coin hoard was unearthed in Ueken, in a remote field close to the Rhine limes. It consists of 4,084 coins dating from Gallienus to the Diarchy (tpq end 293), being thus one of the most significant Roman hoards known to date in Switzerland, and the largest from the late 3rd century AD. As such, it is a first-rate European source for the period between the monetary reforms of Aurelian and Diocletian.
The archaeological and numismatic study of this assemblage, carried out by a joint team of the Swiss Inventory of Coin Finds and of the Cantonal Archaeology of Aargau, helped to place the Ueken hoard in its historical context. A comparison with the contemporary hoard of Thun (2,304 coins), located close to the Alpine passes, reveals surprisingly strong similarities leading us to conclude that the Ueken hoard cannot be of a directly military origin.
