An Unexpected Treasure at the Cluny Abbey

    In our studies of medieval history over the past few months we have discussed the importance and beauty of the Cluny Abbey and the relevance it held throughout the middle ages. Cluny was a Romanesque styled monastery home to Benedictine monks for many years. Throughout history the original buildings have come and gone and modifications have been made, but it remains an area of importance and a wealth of historical knowledge to this day.                                                                                                                 Recently an important discovery has been made at Cluny including the largest number of silver deniers ever found. In this discovery of treasure, a gold signet ring, 2,200 silver deniers and oboles, 21 Islamic gold dinars and other various gold items were found. An interesting fact about this find is that not only is it the largest amount of silver deniers that has ever been found, but never before has such different items from various areas been found together in one place. It is thought that these areas include Spain, Morocco, and the signet ring has Roman markings. While the origin of this treasure and the reason for it being together in one place is not known to us, it is possible it was a donation from christian kings of Spain or some sort of payment.

    

Sources

https://phys.org/news/2017-11-medieval-treasure-unearthed-abbey-cluny.html

https://www.realmofhistory.com/2017/11/17/islamic-gold-dinars-abbey-of-cluny/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/archaeologists-find-buried-medieval-treasure-in-french-abbey/2017/11/15/444457d4-c9fc-11e7-b506-8a10ed11ecf5_story.html?utm_term=.bcea0ba6ed3b