SENON, FRANCE—Live Science reports that tens of thousands of Roman coins have been unearthed in northeastern France by researchers led by Simon Ritz of the French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP). Some of the coins bear images of rulers of the Gallic Empire that controlled the region from A.D. 260 to 274. The coins are thought to have been collected over time in three amphoras, which were carefully buried in a dwelling so that the openings of the jars were level with the floor. INRAP numismatist Vincent Geneviève said that the first jar held about 83 pounds of coins, and the second jar contained about 110 pounds of coins. Only three coins were found in a pit where a third jar had once been buried and later retrieved in antiquity. The remaining savings appear to have been forgotten when the settlement was destroyed by fire in the beginning of the fourth century. To read about a coin minted by one of the little-known Gallic emperors, go to "Artifact: Roman Coin."
