22.09.2007 - 09.12.2007

The exhibition is a joint project of the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Speyer and other museums in Germany and Belgium, as well as the MNHA in Luxembourg. It presents the most important discovery ever made in Europe of a metal treasure from the Roman period. Over a period of more than 1,700 years, a batch of silver, bronze, brass and iron objects weighing more than 700 kilos and consisting of more than a thousand pieces was submerged in the Rhine near Neupotz in the Palatinate. It was the spoils of a plundering expedition in Roman Gaul, lost when Germanic invaders crossed the river in the second half of the third century AD. Most of the objects were found in 1980 during gravel extraction. The loot consisted of a wide variety of objects: cult objects, weapons, coins, kitchen and tableware, tools, and chariot and boat accessories. Food, clothing and livestock were also part of the loot, which was accompanied by deported men, especially craftsmen for their skills.