Late Iron Age Gold Hoards from the Low Countries and the Caesarian Conquest of Northern Gaul

This volume presents eight new Iron Age gold hoards from the southern Netherlands and Belgium, consisting of gold coinages and in several cases also gold ornaments. The study of these hoards provides a wealth of new information on the archaeological contexts in which they were found, on the dating of many coin types and jewellery, and on the social role of gold in pre-Roman society. All these hoards seem to have been buried in the 50s BC, thus making a direct association with the historical context of Caesar’s war campaigns in Northern Gaul very plausible. This makes the volume important for archaeologists as well as numismatists and historians.Amsterdam Archaeological Studies is a series devoted to the study of past human societies from the prehistory up into modern times, primarily based on the study of archaeological remains. The series will include excavation reports of modern fieldwork; studies of categories of material culture; and synthesising studies with broader images of past societies, thereby contributing to the theoretical and methodological debates in archaeology.

"The volume is clearly structured with very little repetitive information. Roymans and Scheers’ introduction provides regional background and argues for adjustments to the dating of Late Iron Age gold emissions. They also present a convincing argument for identifying the fort at Thuin as the oppidum of the Aduatuci and therefore for the burial of the Thuin hoard being contemporary with Caesar’s invasions. They stress that we will never fully understand the reasons for deposition of a hoard, be it safekeeping or a gift to the gods, but that these two motivations cannot always be viewed as exclusive." - Rachel Wilkinson, University of Leicester (UK). “This groundbreaking study brings together new evidence from eight Iron Age coin hoards of mid first century BC date found in Belgium and the Netherlands in recent years. Rigorous typological and scientific analysis of the hoards has helped transform our understanding of Iron Age coin production in this region. The thought-provoking assessment of the associated archaeological evidence throws new light on power relations within the societies that used these coins, and on the Roman conquest of northern Gaul. In combining these different strands, this is a book that sets new standards for future publication in this field.” - Colin Haselgrove, School of Archaeology and History, University of Leicester (UK).

Guido Creemers is chief curator of the Gallo-Romeins Museum at Tongres (B). Nico Roymans is professor of West European archaeology at the VU University in Amsterdam. Simone Scheers is Emeritus Professor in Celtic Numismatics of the Catholic University of Leuven.