A Hoard of denarii and antoniniani from the village of Sikirica near Paraćin (Sikirica I)

Abstract

The Sikirica I hoard was discovered in the village of the same name, to the south of Paraćin. It consists of 240 denarii and 52 antoniniani and is part of a scattered find, which did not reach the National Museum in Belgrade in its entirety. The oldest specimen is Vespasian’s denarius from 70 AD, and the latest is the antoninianus of Philip I from the eighth issue of the Rome mint, dated in 248-249, so this date represents the terminus post quem of the Sikirica I find. Two analogous finds have been identified in the territory of Moesia Superior: in the Kalemegdan (Belgrade) and in Kremenica near Bela Palanka, known as Remesiana in Antiquity. Despite the incomplete archaeological finds from the field, we may assume that agricultural holdings existed in the areal of the Sikirica village and that the find represented the savings of the owner of the villa. As for the cause for its concealment, the predominant view is that the barbarian raids in the neighbouring provinces had not directly contributed to it. The real reasons for depositing the Sikirica I hoard should be viewed most probably as the consequence of usurpations and the emerging imperial pretenders, causing internal turmoil the centre of which was the Danube River basin.