DOI issue:
Artykuły
DOI article:Zapolska, Anna: The coins from the Goldsmith Hoard of Frombork reconsidered
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31073#0098
ANNA ZAPOLSKA
human remains alongside the hoard,^ which would exclude the possibility of a bu-
rial. The deposit was interpreted as the belongings of a goldsmith who exchanged
his products for coinsf It was most probably hidden away in a hurry, as attested by
the semi-bnished and unbnished items. One of the bronze objects, of unidentibed
use, may have been a tool fi agment. Unfortunately, only this single Ragment of the
object has sui*vived; the other part was lost shortly after the discovery of the deposit.^
Ali the objects were originally kept at Frombork in the collection of the lo-
cal cathedral li braiy as part of the so-called Dowozy? bc/ó b?
which was madę available to the public in around 1905.^ The coins,
with the rest of the collection, were lost most łikely at the end of World War II or
veiy soon afterwardsA It is probable that it may have been evacuated before the
town was destroyed by the Russian Red Army in Februaiy 1945, which resulted
in the transport of the collection, or at least some part of it, to Berlin." It is similar
to the fate of the collection housed at the Lyceum Hosianum in Braniewo, which
were secured in late Februaiy/early March 1945 and transported to the National
Museum in Warsaw in the years 1946-1948."
It is worth having a broader view of the coins found along with the hand-
crafted objects, half-bnished items, and the other bronze "scrap." They had been
^ The hrst mentions of the discovery of this board come f)*om 1911 and were featured in the journals Rer-
AFżTzzTz/óY/gz* and P/ó7/g7*yzżz* MwyfeMwJe (ANON, "Mtinzfunde," P/d7/g7*y7'żz* AfMwyhgM^ć/g 1911, 46, col.
4876). According to one of them, the find unearthed near Frombork contained denarii representing a time-scale
from the reign of Vespasian to Comntodus, a coin of Theodosius 11, and three bronze coins, along with some
jewetlery of bronze, beads, etc., and human remains: bei Frauenburg in OstpreuBen Denare aus der Zeit von
Vespasian bis Commodus, ein Aureus des Kaisers Theodosius 2. etwa aus dem Jahre 485, auch 3 Bronzestucke,
sowie Fibeln, Glassperlen, geschliffene Steine, Ringe, Schnalten, Nadeln mit Resten menschlicher Gebeine aus-
gegraben worden sind" (ANON, "Mtinzfunde," RgzTzTzgz* ATMZ7zA/ó7tgz* 1911, 120, p. 242). This is the only instance
of a notę that referred to human remains, which woutd not be mentioned in any of the later publications.
^ "Man hat es offenbar mit dem Schatz eines Bronzegiessers zu tun, der im Norden Hausierhande) getrie-
ben haben wird derart, dass er den Bewohnem Bronzearbeiten anfertigte und dafur Mtinzen eintauschte" (ANON,
"Mtinzfunde", R/ó7/gryh' Mzwyi^gMwc/g, 19)1,46, col. 4900).
' PE1SER, KEMKE, "Der Depotfund...," pp. 68-69.
^ The Frombork collection comprised wax and metal seals, stamps, medals, parchments, old prints, and
other assorted antiquities (such as faience beads and pottery from Egyptian burial sites from about 2500 BC, early
Christian glassware of the 5"' century from the catacomb graves in Romę) as well as Roman coins (B. FAENSEN,
zlw///rgz7S'ow/77/M/7ggz7 /w Oyzyz7*g:zyyg77. Berlin 2011, p. 202).
S. BOL1N, "Die Fundę rómischer und byzantinischer Mtinzen in Ostpreussen," PzzzyyzT? 26, 1926,
p. 207; K. GODŁOWSK1, "Fromborski skarb z okresu wędrówek ludów," Wcz77g77/<77'zg F7"0777(zoz*y^zg 4, 1972,
p. 57; FAENSEN, ^z7/z'łg/7yoz77Z77/zz77ggz7..., p. 202.
" Two brooches from the deposit have been identihed by Dr. Magdalena Natuniewicz-Sekula in so-called
Pz':zyyz7z Xć7/77/77/:777g at the Museum ftir Vor- und Frtihgeschichte in Berlin, inv. nos. Pr 4223b and Pr 4227 (cf.
M. NATUNIEWICZ-SEKULA, Z/o/77z'cóvo y/7o/gczz7oygz ^7z//zzzy wzg/Tzoz-y^/g/' (Tizyoczvzz7y F/^z/czy/rzg/' zg yzczggó/-
77yz?7 :zwzg/^<777z'gz7zg777 Mzy(zz*ć777yg/7 zoTy/Adw z cz77gz7tć7z*zyy^o w IFL/r/zcoc/?, Warszawa 2012, pp. 101-102, typescript
of doctoral dissertation).
'-According to B. Faensen, some ofthe objects from the Braniewo collection may be kept in Russian collec-
tions (B. FAENSEN, "Das 'Antik-Archaologische Kabinett' am 'Lyceum Hosianum' in Braunsberg (Braniewo).
Aus der Geschichte der Altertumssanimlung und des Lehrstuhls ftir Klassische Philologie einer katholischen
Hochschule im Ermtand," PgzVz'z7g7* 7?gz7z*z7gg zzzzzz (Vr7g/7/gńgz7 <7gz*Zz7/z'łg 2, 2000, p. 82).
human remains alongside the hoard,^ which would exclude the possibility of a bu-
rial. The deposit was interpreted as the belongings of a goldsmith who exchanged
his products for coinsf It was most probably hidden away in a hurry, as attested by
the semi-bnished and unbnished items. One of the bronze objects, of unidentibed
use, may have been a tool fi agment. Unfortunately, only this single Ragment of the
object has sui*vived; the other part was lost shortly after the discovery of the deposit.^
Ali the objects were originally kept at Frombork in the collection of the lo-
cal cathedral li braiy as part of the so-called Dowozy? bc/ó b?
which was madę available to the public in around 1905.^ The coins,
with the rest of the collection, were lost most łikely at the end of World War II or
veiy soon afterwardsA It is probable that it may have been evacuated before the
town was destroyed by the Russian Red Army in Februaiy 1945, which resulted
in the transport of the collection, or at least some part of it, to Berlin." It is similar
to the fate of the collection housed at the Lyceum Hosianum in Braniewo, which
were secured in late Februaiy/early March 1945 and transported to the National
Museum in Warsaw in the years 1946-1948."
It is worth having a broader view of the coins found along with the hand-
crafted objects, half-bnished items, and the other bronze "scrap." They had been
^ The hrst mentions of the discovery of this board come f)*om 1911 and were featured in the journals Rer-
AFżTzzTz/óY/gz* and P/ó7/g7*yzżz* MwyfeMwJe (ANON, "Mtinzfunde," P/d7/g7*y7'żz* AfMwyhgM^ć/g 1911, 46, col.
4876). According to one of them, the find unearthed near Frombork contained denarii representing a time-scale
from the reign of Vespasian to Comntodus, a coin of Theodosius 11, and three bronze coins, along with some
jewetlery of bronze, beads, etc., and human remains: bei Frauenburg in OstpreuBen Denare aus der Zeit von
Vespasian bis Commodus, ein Aureus des Kaisers Theodosius 2. etwa aus dem Jahre 485, auch 3 Bronzestucke,
sowie Fibeln, Glassperlen, geschliffene Steine, Ringe, Schnalten, Nadeln mit Resten menschlicher Gebeine aus-
gegraben worden sind" (ANON, "Mtinzfunde," RgzTzTzgz* ATMZ7zA/ó7tgz* 1911, 120, p. 242). This is the only instance
of a notę that referred to human remains, which woutd not be mentioned in any of the later publications.
^ "Man hat es offenbar mit dem Schatz eines Bronzegiessers zu tun, der im Norden Hausierhande) getrie-
ben haben wird derart, dass er den Bewohnem Bronzearbeiten anfertigte und dafur Mtinzen eintauschte" (ANON,
"Mtinzfunde", R/ó7/gryh' Mzwyi^gMwc/g, 19)1,46, col. 4900).
' PE1SER, KEMKE, "Der Depotfund...," pp. 68-69.
^ The Frombork collection comprised wax and metal seals, stamps, medals, parchments, old prints, and
other assorted antiquities (such as faience beads and pottery from Egyptian burial sites from about 2500 BC, early
Christian glassware of the 5"' century from the catacomb graves in Romę) as well as Roman coins (B. FAENSEN,
zlw///rgz7S'ow/77/M/7ggz7 /w Oyzyz7*g:zyyg77. Berlin 2011, p. 202).
S. BOL1N, "Die Fundę rómischer und byzantinischer Mtinzen in Ostpreussen," PzzzyyzT? 26, 1926,
p. 207; K. GODŁOWSK1, "Fromborski skarb z okresu wędrówek ludów," Wcz77g77/<77'zg F7"0777(zoz*y^zg 4, 1972,
p. 57; FAENSEN, ^z7/z'łg/7yoz77Z77/zz77ggz7..., p. 202.
" Two brooches from the deposit have been identihed by Dr. Magdalena Natuniewicz-Sekula in so-called
Pz':zyyz7z Xć7/77/77/:777g at the Museum ftir Vor- und Frtihgeschichte in Berlin, inv. nos. Pr 4223b and Pr 4227 (cf.
M. NATUNIEWICZ-SEKULA, Z/o/77z'cóvo y/7o/gczz7oygz ^7z//zzzy wzg/Tzoz-y^/g/' (Tizyoczvzz7y F/^z/czy/rzg/' zg yzczggó/-
77yz?7 :zwzg/^<777z'gz7zg777 Mzy(zz*ć777yg/7 zoTy/Adw z cz77gz7tć7z*zyy^o w IFL/r/zcoc/?, Warszawa 2012, pp. 101-102, typescript
of doctoral dissertation).
'-According to B. Faensen, some ofthe objects from the Braniewo collection may be kept in Russian collec-
tions (B. FAENSEN, "Das 'Antik-Archaologische Kabinett' am 'Lyceum Hosianum' in Braunsberg (Braniewo).
Aus der Geschichte der Altertumssanimlung und des Lehrstuhls ftir Klassische Philologie einer katholischen
Hochschule im Ermtand," PgzVz'z7g7* 7?gz7z*z7gg zzzzzz (Vr7g/7/gńgz7 <7gz*Zz7/z'łg 2, 2000, p. 82).