The Uerdingen Hoard or ''Uerdingen Treasure'' is the name of an historically significant group of ancient objects found in a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
grave in the town of
Uerdingen
Uerdingen () is a district of the city of Krefeld, Germany, with a population of 17,888 (2019). Originally a separate city in its own right, Uerdingen merged with the city of Krefeld in 1929. Today, Uerdingen is best known for a local distillery ...
, western
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Discovered in the middle of the nineteenth century, the entire hoard was donated to the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 1868.
British Museum Collection
retrieved 31 July 2014
Discovery
The six grave objects, which date to between the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD, were found in a stone coffin at Uerdingen part of the city of Krefeld
Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...
in North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
. The hoard later passed into the possession of the physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and collector Dr George Witt, who presented it to the British Museum in 1868[ along with other parts of his collection.
]
Description
The type of objects found in the grave suggest that the deceased was probably male and from the upper echelons of Roman society. He seemed to be able to afford to be buried with fashionable and in some cases luxurious items. The most important part of the hoard is a well-preserved athlete's bronze toilet set for scraping and cleaning the skin, which consists of an aryballos
An aryballos ( Greek: ἀρύβαλλος; plural aryballoi) was a small spherical or globular flask with a narrow neck used in Ancient Greece."aryballos" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., ...
and two strigils linked together by chains and a hoop for hanging on the wall.[Toilet set]
British Museum, retrieved 31 July 2014 There were also a glass handled patera
In the material culture of classical antiquity, a ''phiale'' ( ) or ''patera'' () is a shallow ceramic or metal libation bowl. It often has a bulbous indentation (''omphalos'', "bellybutton") in the center underside to facilitate holding it, in ...
and oinochoe
An oenochoe, also spelled oinochoe ( grc, οἰνοχόη; from grc, οἶνος ''oînos'', "wine" and grc, χέω ''khéō'', "I pour," sense "wine-pourer"; plural ''oinochoai''; New Latin ''oenochoë,'' plural ''oenochoae,'' English plura ...
decorated with polychrome
Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors.
Ancient Egypt
Colossal statu ...
serpentine designs, which would have been used for hand-washing between meals. Other items from the tomb include a cylindrical bronze pot and lid, a bronze razor
A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors.
While the razor has been in existence since bef ...
and a small glass vessel coloured green.
See also
* Apoxyomenos
Gallery
Image:Uerdingen hoard 2 (BM).JPG, Bronze aryballos for dispensing perfumes
Image:Uerdingen hoard 3 (BM).JPG, Pair of bronze strigils used for scraping skin
Image:Uerdingen hoard 4 (BM).JPG, Two glass vessels with snake-like patterns
Bibliography
*L. Burn, The British Museum Book of Greek and Roman Art (British Museum Press, 1991)
*S. Walker, Roman Art (British Museum Press, 1991)
*R. Pirling, Ein römischer Grabfund aus Lank-Latum im British Museum, London, in: Heimat refeld 56, 1985
References
{{reflist
Ancient Greek and Roman objects in the British Museum
Bronze sculptures in the United Kingdom
Ancient Roman glassware
Archaeological discoveries in Germany