14.11.2007 150 silver coins found under the gothic floor

Archaeologists discovered a rich depot of silver coins in Kutná Hora fourteen years ago when they explored the remains of the Gothic floor in the local church. The vast majority of the treasure consisted of the Prague grosz of Jan Lucemburský.

The research was carried out by the staff of the Archaeological Institute of the Academy of Sciences in Prague. The reason why they missed the church of St. John the Baptist in Malin is simple. The building was undergoing extensive reconstruction, so the researchers wanted to see if there were any rarities in the church and its surroundings.

The archaeologists conducted a static survey of the church and came across coins from the 14th century, one of the largest and oldest coin hoards found in Kutná Hora. "The archaeological research was carried out as part of the static survey of the church, which is currently undergoing extensive reconstruction," said archaeologist Filip Velímský.

The Church of St. John the Baptist is located in Malín, which is one of the town districts of Kutná Hora. It belongs to the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, which was also the investor of the building. Together with it, the Central Bohemian Region and the Kutná Hora Town Hall.

The church dates back to the tenth century. It was thoroughly rebuilt in the twelfth and eighteenth centuries. And in 1922 it was converted into a house of prayer of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. It is a single-nave building with an apse and a square tower in the northwestern part.

In total, archaeologists have carried out two probes at the church. First, they came across the remains of a burial site from the thirteenth century. Next, they found part of the original Gothic floor, under which silver coins were found. It was located next to the foundations of the church tower.

The treasure overwhelmingly contained the Prague grosz of Jan Lucemburský, which were minted in Kutná Hora in 1311. One coin was slightly older, as it was a groschen of Wenceslas II. Among other things, it proves that the tower was already standing at the beginning of the fourteenth century. This means earlier than previous research suggested," Velímský said at the time.

According to him, the coins were hidden just after they were minted. This means about the first quarter of the fourteenth century. Archaeologists subsequently had the find analysed in detail.

Sources: www.denik.cz, www.hrady.cz