Treasure from Neupotz

At the turn of 259/260 CE, the Germanic Alaman tribe conquered the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian limes. The evidence of these events is the treasure of Roman metal objects found at the bottom of the Rhine oxbow lake.

In the third century CE, the Roman Empire was experiencing an economic and political crisis, which was associated with a significant weakening of the state borders. The forces of Roman troops focused mainly on the provinces located in the southeast of the Empire.

The weakened northern borders of the Empire were increasingly victims of militant Germanic tribes who took advantage of Rome’s difficult situation by regularly plundering the northwestern provinces of the Empire. In the middle of the third century CE. the increased activity of the Alamans dates back to the collapse of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes at the turn of 259/260 CE.

The archaeological evidence of these events is an unusual find discovered in the Rhine oxbow lake in the West German town of Neupotz. The so-called. The treasure from Neupotz contains over 1000 items made of silver, bronze and iron weighing over 700 kg. It mainly included metal utensils, kitchen utensils, and tools. Archaeologists agree that this finding can be combined with Germanic plundering raids by Germans against Roman provinces. The spoils of Alamans attempted to transport the Empire’s spoils through the Rhine. Unfortunately, most likely during the crossing of the river the boat sank and all looted objects went to the bottom.