Three large coins hoard found in late Roman-era homes

"Senon was an important city of the Mediomatrici tribe, documented in Roman sources after the conquest of Gaul (57 B.C.). While pre-Roman Gallic remains had been found before, the excavations were too small in scale to draw any conclusions about the extent and nature of the settlement. The excavation revealed the remains of timber-framed constructions that proved it was a fully developed settlement from the middle of the 2nd century B.C. to the beginning of the Roman period."

"The rebuilt stone houses and roads were laid out in a typical Roman pattern, and the survival of so many remains makes it possible for archaeologists map the buildings, their architectural features and therefore the economic status of their owners. At least three buildings had living rooms with concrete floors, hypocaust heating, meticulously designed cellars, ovens and courtyards in the back. The people who lived in these homes were well-off, likely commercial class like merchants or successful artisans."

Three large coin hoards from Late Antiquity were found within an ancient Roman residential block in Senon, northeastern France. The hoards were intentionally installed inside large amphorae in pits dug within homes and were regularly accessed and maintained rather than secreted during instability. Senon developed from a fully formed Gallic settlement in the middle of the 2nd century B.C. into an expanded Roman city after the conquest. Stone quarrying surged in the 1st century A.D. to supply limestone for Roman construction; at least ten quarry pits were documented and later reused. Rebuilt stone houses displayed Roman layouts, concrete floors, hypocaust heating, cellars, ovens and courtyards, indicating wealth among occupants, likely merchants or successful artisans.

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