| Capheaton Treasure | |
|---|---|
 The Capheaton Treasure, as displayed in the British Museum | |
| Material | Silver |
| Created | 2nd-3rd Century AD |
| Present location | British Museum, London |
| Registration | P&EE 1824.4-89.59-65 |
The Capheaton Treasure is an important Roman silver hoard found in the village of Capheaton in Northumberland, north-east England. Since 1824, it has been part of the British Museum's collection. [1]
The hoard was discovered in 1747 in the village of Capheaton near Kirkwhelpington in Northumberland. Some of the treasure was melted down soon after it was found. That which survived was bequeathed by the antiquary and philanthropist Richard Payne Knight to the British Museum in 1824.
The six objects that compose the treasure date from the 2nd/3rd centuries AD and depict a range of religious and mythological subjects. They are unfortunately only fragments of highly decorated silver vessels they may have formed part of a temple treasure. Four of them are the handles of silver vessels, probably skillets, while the other two are the base and a fitting for a silver vessel. The subjects represented on the handles include the goddess Minerva above a temple, the deity Juno, below which is a seated figure of Mercury with the flanking figures of Bacchus and Ariadne below and six of the Twelve Labours of Hercules.
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 the largest in the world. It documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. The British Museum was the first public national museum to cover all fields of knowledge.
Hercules is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Romans equated her with the Greek goddess Athena. Minerva is one of the three Roman deities in the Capitoline Triad, along with Jupiter and Juno.
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Capheaton is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, about 25 miles (40 km) to the northwest of Newcastle upon Tyne. The population at the 2001 census was 160, increasing to 175 at the 2011 Census. It was built as a planned model village in the late eighteenth century. The name Capheaton derives from Caput Heaton, i.e., Heaton Magna, nearby Kirkheaton being the original Heaton Parva.
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The Mâcon Treasure or Macon Treasure is the name of a Roman silver hoard found in the city of Mâcon, eastern France in 1764. Soon after its discovery, the bulk of the treasure disappeared, with only 8 silver statuettes and a silver plate identified as being part of the original find. All of these objects are now in the British Museum
The Chaourse Treasure is a hoard of Roman silver found in Chaourse, a village near Montcornet, Aisne in northern France in 1883. Dating between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, the treasure is one of the most complete table services to survive from antiquity. This important hoard is now part of the British Museum's collection.
The Arcisate Treasure is a Roman silver hoard found in the town of Arcisate, northern Italy. Soon after its discovery in 1900, the treasure was acquired by the British Museum According to scholars, the treasure's significance is due to the completeness of the set, the high quality of the craftsmanship and materials used to make it, as well as the hoard's excellent state of preservation.
The Caubiac Treasure is a Roman silver hoard found in the village of Thil, southern France in 1785 that is now kept in the British Museum in London.
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The Carthage Treasure is a Roman silver hoard, which was found in Tunis, Tunisia, at the site of the ancient city of Carthage. The treasure principally consists of silver tableware and jewellery, most of which is now held at the British Museum.
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The Beaurains Treasure is the name of an important Roman hoard found in Beaurains, a suburb of the city of Arras, northern France in 1922. Soon after its discovery, much of the treasure was dispersed, to be sold on the antiquities market. The largest portion of the hoard can be found in the local museum in Arras and in the British Museum.
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The Boscoreale Treasure is a large collection of exquisite silver and gold Roman objects discovered in the ruins of the ancient Villa della Pisanella at Boscoreale, near Pompeii, southern Italy. Consisting of over a hundred pieces of silverware, as well as gold coins and jewellery, it is now mostly kept at the Louvre Museum in Paris, although parts of the treasure can also be found at the British Museum.
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