Ocatarinetabellatchitchix Posted July 12, 2023 · Member Share Posted July 12, 2023 The Villa Borg in the municipality of Perl (Merzig-Wadern district) in Saarland is a fascinating archaeological area - an agricultural and industrial complex in a rural area between the Saar and Moselle rivers, but with trade connections crossing one extend over a wide area to Trier, Metz and Luxembourg, and with a settlement history that stretches from the Neolithic Age through the Bronze Age to the end of the Roman period. There aren't any written sources on Villa Borg (as it was later called), but it is extremely interesting for numismatics due to the exceptionally large number of coins that were found in the residential buildings and the handicraft workshops. The numismatist Ulrich Werz has now documented the coins found in Villa Borg and its surroundings up to 2017, building on preliminary work by Auguste V. B. Miron. The oldest coins found in this area are Celtic potin coins of the Leuci, Santones and Treveri, followed by scattered Roman denarii of the Republican period. Finds continue through the Imperial Roman period, including some bisected and counterstamped coins, but most of the material dates to the 3rd century AD, when the Roman emperors gradually lost control of the northern territories and the Gallic Empire was founded. A large part of the catalog is dedicated to imitation coinage ("barbarous radiates") made in the name of Divus Claudius II, Victorinus and the two Tetrici, found in large numbers at Villa Borg. In the catalogue, each coin is described and illustrated in colour. Also included are two hoards, one with coins from the Roman Republic to the early Imperial period up to coins of Antoninus Pius for Marcus Aurelius, and the other is a 3rd century find with coins of Victorinus, the Tetrici and numerous local imitations. Ulrich Werz's new catalog provides welcome documentation of the coin finds from this important and unusual archaeological complex in Saarland. Mr. Werz contacted me a few weeks ago to have more details on an article I wrote in French about the Eid Mar coins in 2022; he was interested because one of the specimen unearthed in Villa Borg is a plated Brutus Eid Mar denarius. I believe it is a die-match with two other contemporary imitations sold by Roma in 2017 and CNG in 2020. The Villa Borg one The CNG one The Roma one I just started analyzing my new book, but I’m captivated by the variety of coins found in this region. Of course the book is written in German, but if you know the basic numismatic expression in this language it won’t give you any problem. It only came off the presses two weeks ago and they told me I was the first in America to order it ! For 59 euros shipping included, it’s a « must have » for coin lovers and numismatists. 15 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romismatist Posted July 12, 2023 · Member Share Posted July 12, 2023 Awesome coin reference book, and thanks for letting us all know about it @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix! There are a couple of these type of projects that I've been involved with that I will also post about later this summer. It would be great if others posted about similar resources occasionally; I see a lot of coins posted, but it would be great to learn more about all the reference works (especially unique ones like this one) as well! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocatarinetabellatchitchix Posted July 18, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 Just heard a terrible news. I was wondering why my coin-friend was not responding to my e-mail lately…well it’s because he just passed away… RIP Uli, and I’ll think about you every time I put my nose in your last book 😒 Ulrich Werz (1964-2023) was a German archaeologist and numismatist. He studied classical archeology and ancient history as well as prehistory and early history at the Georg-August University in Göttingen. After the intermediate examination, he moved to the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main; as a minor he studied Near Eastern Archaeology. In the seminar for classical archeology at the University of Frankfurt, he received his Magister Artium from Hans von Steuben on the subject of depictions of Aphrodite on coins from Asia Minor from the Roman Empire. After supplementary studies and final exams in the subject of auxiliary sciences of archeology: epigraphy, papyrology, numismatics, he did his doctorate at the Seminar for Ancient History in Frankfurt am Main (today the Institute for Archaeological Sciences) on countermarks on Aes-stamps from the early Roman Empire in the Rhine area. From 2002 to 2014 Werz was a research associate at the Coin Cabinet of the City of Winterthur. He also worked as a find coin processor, for the cantonal archeology of Zurich and St. Gallen, among others. Over a longer period of time, Ulrich Werz promoted young talent through lectures at the coin cabinet of the city of Winterthur and at the ancient history seminars of the universities of Freiburg im Breisgau and Osnabrück. From March 2010 to March 2014 Werz was on the board of the Swiss Working Group for Coin Finds (SAF), which he served as President from 2011 to 2014. For health reasons, Ulrich Werz ended his activities in Switzerland in 2014 and continued to work in research and teaching. Since 2015 he has been working on the coin finds from the Roman Villa Borg in Saarland. He has lived in Hanover since 2016 and has been responsible for processing found coins at the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation since 2019. He was only 59 years old. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expat Posted July 18, 2023 · Supporter Share Posted July 18, 2023 Sorry to hear about the loss of your friend and a sad loss to the numismatic community. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted July 18, 2023 · Member Share Posted July 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Ocatarinetabellatchitchix said: Just heard a terrible news. I was wondering why my coin-friend was not responding to my e-mail lately…well it’s because he just passed away… RIP Uli, and I’ll think about you every time I put my nose in your last book 😒 Ulrich Werz (1964-2023) was a German archaeologist and numismatist. He studied classical archeology and ancient history as well as prehistory and early history at the Georg-August University in Göttingen. After the intermediate examination, he moved to the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main; as a minor he studied Near Eastern Archaeology. In the seminar for classical archeology at the University of Frankfurt, he received his Magister Artium from Hans von Steuben on the subject of depictions of Aphrodite on coins from Asia Minor from the Roman Empire. After supplementary studies and final exams in the subject of auxiliary sciences of archeology: epigraphy, papyrology, numismatics, he did his doctorate at the Seminar for Ancient History in Frankfurt am Main (today the Institute for Archaeological Sciences) on countermarks on Aes-stamps from the early Roman Empire in the Rhine area. From 2002 to 2014 Werz was a research associate at the Coin Cabinet of the City of Winterthur. He also worked as a find coin processor, for the cantonal archeology of Zurich and St. Gallen, among others. Over a longer period of time, Ulrich Werz promoted young talent through lectures at the coin cabinet of the city of Winterthur and at the ancient history seminars of the universities of Freiburg im Breisgau and Osnabrück. From March 2010 to March 2014 Werz was on the board of the Swiss Working Group for Coin Finds (SAF), which he served as President from 2011 to 2014. For health reasons, Ulrich Werz ended his activities in Switzerland in 2014 and continued to work in research and teaching. Since 2015 he has been working on the coin finds from the Roman Villa Borg in Saarland. He has lived in Hanover since 2016 and has been responsible for processing found coins at the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation since 2019. He was only 59 years old. This sounds like a serious loss for the numismatic community, may his soul RIP. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinmaster Posted July 21, 2023 · Member Share Posted July 21, 2023 Rest in piece indeed, my condoleances... Very nice these coins from Borg (resistance is futile)! About 20 years ago I was there when the villa was just created, it's indeed worth a visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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