Showcase ZERO. The Valsadornín Hoard

The Valsadornín Hoard is one of the most important archaeological testaments to the climate of insecurity that characterised the Roman Empire during the middle decades of the third century.

It is a bronze pot filled with thousands of coins, found in 1937 by an old road that once connected the towns of Valsadornín and Gramedo in the province of Palencia. The cache was hidden or lost around the year 270, and its unknown owner never retrieved his savings.

The pot, with some coins still adhered to it, was recently restored and various tests were done to study and improve its conservation in a joint initiative of the Museo de Palencia, the National Archaeological Museum and the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute.

Department of Numismatics and Medals