Οι αποκρύψεις έκτακτης ανάγκης στην κυρίως Ελλάδα επί Γαλλιηνού (253-268 μ.Χ.) με αφορμή τον «θησαυρό» Χαιρώνεια 2001: Η Βοιωτία του α΄ μισού του 3ου αι. μ.Χ. και οι Έρουλοι

Abstract

Emergency hoards concealed in mainland Greece during the reign of Gallienus (A.D. 253-268) and the Chaironeia/2001 ‘hoard’. Boeotia during the first half of the third cent. A.D. and the Herulians. The Chaironeia/2001 coin hoard, exhibited today in the Numismatic Collection of the Chaironeia Archaeological Museum, was found during a rescue excavation of a Roman farmhouse (villa rustica), 500 m. outside of modern Chaironeia. This hoard consists of 10 antoniniani issued either during the joined reign of Valerianus I – Gallienus (A.D. 253-260) or the sole reign of Gallienus (A.D. 260-268).
The date of the latest coin, issued from 266 to the middle of 267 or to the beginning of A.D. 268, establishes either the date of hoard’s concealment or the date of farmhouse’s abandonment. The short space between the earliest and the latest coin of the hoard, 10-11 years, the almost good condition of the coins, and their small number suggests that the house’s owner concealed the money lest he suffer some danger, so that he could regain his money safely at a later date.
Prompted by this small find an overview of the emergency hoards concealed in mainland Greece during the reign of Gallienus (A.D. 253-268) has been undertaken, so that conclusions concerning their geographical distribution, the quality, and the quantity of hoards can be deduced.
When looking for reasons why a farmer would feel the need to hide his money, one possible explanation comes from the literary evidence. In Historia Augusta, Vita Gallieni 13.8, the Herulians are going through Boeotia and sacking villages and farms. Their course, in combination with the findspots of the emergency hoards and the scattered information collected from the partly preserved Itinerarium Antonini 325/6, of Diocletianus era, and Tabula Peutingeriana map, of the second half of the fourth century A.D., helps strengthen the argument that Boeotians had reason to hide their money until it was safe to go back to their homes.
Finally, it is likely that the Herulian going through Boeotia is more than possible, since the German intruders eventually fled northwards to Epirus and Macedonia. The Chaironeia/2001 hoard constitutes one of a lost link in a chain of emergency hiding places deposited during the reign of Gallienus. To the unproved indication of Herulian presence in Lebadeia could be added now the more secure proof of Chaironeia, which is based on the heavier numismatic evidence. The fact that the Herulian troops were persecuted by the Roman legions could be a good reason for the absence of well-founded destruction remains throughout Boeotia.