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Lava Treasure

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The Lava treasure is the Roman treasure of coins and the gold plate that was discovered underwater in the small Gulf of Lava (part of the Gulf of Ajaccio  [ fr ] ), southern Corsica , France, probably in 1958. Also known as the “Corsica hoard”, or “Mediterranean Sea hoard”. It is considered one of world's most important archaeological finds, and presents a unique testimony for the knowledge of Roman imperial coinage.

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56-399: The discovery was made in the commune of Alata, Corse-du-Sud . The find was never officially declared. Part of it was discovered by two brothers who were diving in the waters searching for sea urchins . Instead, they came up with several gold coins that they cleaned and then sold illegally. Under French law, all underwater archaeological finds belong to the state. At this time, the treasure

112-564: A fashionable resort of Parisians. Following the death of Louis XIV in December 1715, his great-grandson, Louis XV , just five years old, was moved from Versailles to the Tuileries Palace on 1 January 1716. The palace had been rarely used in forty years; it was refurnished and redecorated for the new king, but he remained only until 15 June 1722, when he moved to Versailles, three months before his coronation. Both moves were made at

168-725: A large camp for Russian and Prussian soldiers, while the kings of France returned to the palace during the Bourbon Restoration . During the July Revolution of 1830, which installed Louis Philippe I as the new monarch, the Tuileries was again stormed and occupied by an armed mob. This time the Swiss Guards of the King, rather than remaining to be massacred, quietly departed their posts. Louis Philippe occupied

224-426: A large golden statue of a youth — has been found, but it was later melted down by the illegal excavators for its gold value. In total, the value of the treasure is estimated at several tens of millions of euros, excluding the statue. Some coins have been valued at €250,000 each. Mysteriously, the forty-one first pieces of gold, aurei and "multiples", appeared on the market in 1956. A big group of coins from Lava

280-541: A large mob stormed the palace gates, entered the gardens, and overwhelmed and massacred the Swiss Guards who defended the palace. They set fires in several of the outlying buildings of the palace. Vestiges of buildings destroyed by the fires were discovered during archaeological excavations in 1989. After the massacre of the Swiss Guards, the palace itself was taken over by the Sans-culottes . In November 1792,

336-520: A new residence for herself, on a site that was close to the Louvre and had space for a large garden. She sold the medieval Hôtel des Tournelles , near the Bastille , where her husband had died, and between 1563 and 1568 acquired several pieces of land which she put together for her new residence. Construction began in 1564, with Philibert de l'Orme working as chief architect. De l'Orme died in 1570, when

392-576: A railway had been set up to bring food from the kitchens under the Rue de Rivoli. On 23 May 1871, during the suppression of the Paris Commune , 12 men under the orders of the Commune's former chief military commander Jules Bergeret set the Tuileries on fire using petroleum , liquid tar and turpentine . The fire lasted 48 hours and thoroughly gutted the palace, with the exception of the foundations,

448-478: A series of mounted processions around the courtyard, complete with music. The King himself took part, dressed as a Roman emperor. The courtyard thereafter became known as the Carrousel. From 1664 to 1666, Le Vau and his assistant François d'Orbay made other significant changes. They transformed Philibert de l'Orme's façades and central pavilion, replacing its grand central staircase with a collonaded vestibule on

504-918: Is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department , on the French island of Corsica . It is within the metropolitan area of the capital Ajaccio . Alata is 7 km north of the city of Ajaccio and the village is at an altitude of 400m. Alata borders the sea in the Gulf of Lava which is in the Gulf of Sagone. The geographic boundaries of the town are between the Monte Gozzi , the Gulf of Lava , La Punta - Pozzo di Borgo , Ajaccio , Villanova , Appietto and Afa (neighbouring communes) with its 3250 hectares of scrub and large forests of oak . The commune can be accessed on road D61 north from Ajaccio. The D61 continues through

560-469: Is dispersed in many private and public collections. The gold coins found cover the period from the AD 262 Decennalia of Gallienus to the reign of Aurelian in AD 272. Altogether, about 1,400 coins were apparently found near Lava; of these, 450 have now been identified, two-thirds of which belong to the reign of Aurelian. Many of the remainder were struck under Claudius Gothicus . Archaeologists believe that

616-683: Is not yet completely saved however. The Golfe de Lava is a beautiful Gulf with a holiday village in the commune of Alata where, in 1985, three pieces of Roman gold were found by three fishermen. This was the starting point of a fabulous treasure hunt that ended with the Police investigation. The many items found are known as the Lava Treasure . The commune has one religious building that is registered as an historical monument: Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace ( French : Palais des Tuileries , IPA: [palɛ de tɥilʁi] )

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672-616: Is surrounded by the Louvre (to the east), the Seine (to the south), the Place de la Concorde (to the west) and the Rue de Rivoli (to the north); and still closely follows the design laid out by the royal landscape architect André Le Nôtre in 1664. The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume is a museum of contemporary art located in the northwest corner of the garden. Originally designed in 1564 as an Italian Renaissance garden by Bernard de Carnesse,

728-530: The Arc de Triomphe to La Défense was originally centred on the façade of the Tuileries, a similar line leading across the entrance court of the Louvre. As the two façades were placed at slightly differing angles, this resulted in a slight 'kink' on the site of the palace, a feature ultimately dictated by the curved course of the River Seine . After the palace was demolished in 1883, the large empty space between

784-763: The Jacobin Club du Manège had its headquarters there. The Committee of Public Safety , led by Robespierre , met in the Pavillon de Flore . On 21 June 1791, as the Revolution intensified, the King and his family attempted to escape. That night they attended a final Vespers Mass in the palace chapel, and then, disguised and with their attendants, attempted to reach the Austrian border by coach. They were recognised and arrested at Varennes , brought back to Paris, and placed under house arrest. On 10 August 1792 ,

840-808: The Robert brothers . It took place just two months after the first manned balloon flight by the Montgolfier brothers in a hot air balloon from the Palace of Versailles. King Louis XVI watched from the tower. Among the crowd of spectators was Benjamin Franklin , the United States ambassador to France. The balloon and its passengers landed safely at Nesles-la-Vallée , 31 miles from Paris. Not long afterwards, on 6 October 1789, Louis XVI and his family were forced to leave Versailles for Paris, moving back into

896-420: The 16th century. List of Successive Mayors of Alata The inhabitants of the commune are known as Alatais or Alataises in French. The Château de la punta (19th century) [REDACTED] is registered as an historical monument. Located 600 m above sea level, the chateau offers a panoramic view of Ajaccio up to the entrance of the Gulf of Porto over the surrounding mountains and over Monte Cinto ,

952-518: The 26th battalion of the Chasseurs d'Afrique managed to put out the fire. The library and other portions of the Louvre were also set on fire by Communards and entirely destroyed. The museum itself was saved by the efforts of the firemen. The ruins of the Tuileries stood on the site for 11 years. Although the roofs and the inside of the palace had been utterly destroyed by the fire, the stone walls of

1008-406: The French government spending no money on the project. The French president at that time, Jacques Chirac , called for a debate on the subject. Former president Charles de Gaulle had also supported reconstruction, saying that it would "make a jewel of the centre of Paris." However, in 2008, Michel Clément, Director of Architecture and Heritage, stated "From our point of view, the reconstruction of

1064-619: The Pavillon de Flore and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. The dome itself was blown up by explosives placed in the central pavilion and detonated by the fires. In his note to the Committee of Public Safety , Bergeret said, "The last vestiges of Royalty have just disappeared. I wish that the same may befall all the public buildings of Paris." It was not until 25 May that the Paris fire brigades and

1120-483: The Revolution. On 19 February 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte moved his official residence to the Tuileries, a more suitable setting for his imperial ambitions. Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine began redesigning the interior in the Neoclassical Empire style . Napoleon also began a series of reconstructions around the palace, tearing down the ruins of buildings burned during the Revolution. In 1806, in

1176-481: The Seine, which connected the two palaces. At the same time, Henry commissioned the landscape gardener Claude Mollet to modify the plan of the gardens. The architects and decorators Etienne Duperac , Louis Metezeau and Jacques II Androuet du Cerceau contributed to the new palace. Androuet de Cerceau contributed the Gros Pavilion des Tuileries , a tower that linked the Louvre and Tuileries palaces. After

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1232-543: The Tuileries Garden was redesigned in 1664 by Le Nôtre as a jardin à la française , which emphasized symmetry, order, and long perspectives. His formal garden plan drew out the perspective from the reflecting pools one to the other in an unbroken vista along a central axis from the west palace façade, which has been extended as the Axe historique . This straight line which runs through the Place de la Concorde and

1288-590: The Tuileries. Nothing had been prepared for their arrival; the various occupants who had moved into the palace were abruptly expelled, and furniture had to be brought from Versailles. The royal family lived in relative calm for a time; the gardens were reserved for them until noon when they were opened to the public. On 9 November 1789, the National Constituent Assembly , formerly the Estates General of 1789 , moved its meetings from

1344-685: The ballroom. The little-used northern wing of the palace, which contained the chapel, the Galerie de la Paix, and the Salle de Spectacle, was used only for performances, such as the Daniel Auber cantata performed on the evening of Napoleon and Eugénie's civil wedding ceremony, 29 July 1853, or for important fêtes, such as the party given for sovereigns attending the International Exposition on 10 June 1867. The Salle de Spectacle

1400-549: The behest of the Regent, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans . The King also resided at the Tuileries for short periods during the 1740s. The large palace theatre continued to be used as a venue for operas, concerts and performances of the Comédie-Française . On 1 December 1783, the palace garden was the starting point of a major event in aviation history—the first manned flight in a hydrogen balloon, by Jacques Charles and

1456-404: The birth of his son and heir, Louis, Dauphin of France , with a spectacular "Carrousel" held in the courtyard on the east side of the palace. The equestrian pageant, with dressage and other exercises, drew over 700 participants. It offered a variety of tournaments and competitions, including a contest in which horsemen were asked to spear the cardboard heads of " Saracens " and " Moors ", as well as

1512-602: The castle took place from 1886 to 1894. Unfortunately the castle was burned on 7 August 1978 by a bush fire which spread to the roof causing serious damage. In 1991 the General Council of South Corsica decided on the acquisition of the Château de la Punta and its area of 40 hectares from the Pozzo di Borgo family. The repair of the roof was completed in 1996 making the castle safe from further damage due to rain. The castle

1568-468: The centre of the courtyard of the Carrousel, he ordered the construction of a triumphal arch modelled after the ancient Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome to serve as the ceremonial gateway of the palace. In 1808, after he became emperor, he moved forward with the grand project of Henry IV . This project entailed the construction of a new wing of the palace on the north side of the gardens, which would match

1624-466: The ceremonies and pageantry of the Second Empire, such as the visit of Queen Victoria in 1855. The old buildings that had filled the courtyard were cleared away; and Napoleon III completed the northern wing of the Louvre along the rue de Rivoli, linking the Tuileries Palace with the Louvre, completing the grand plan of Henry IV. The private apartment used by Napoleon III, on the ground floor of

1680-567: The city, in an area frequently flooded by the Seine as far as the present Rue Saint-Honoré . The land was occupied by the workshops and kilns craftsmen who made "tuiles", or roof tiles. Because of its proximity to the Louvre Castle , members of the royal family began buying plots of land there. After the death of Henry II in 1559, his widow Catherine de' Medici moved into the Louvre Castle with her son, Francis II . She planned

1736-527: The commune is accessed by mountain roads leading off the D61. Other than Alata village there are a number of other villages in the commune. These are: There are also some built-up areas which have no names. The first village was settled close to the Monticchi towers defense post and watchtower, now in ruins but still visible above the present village. Alata has been the seat of the Pozzo di Borgo family since

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1792-413: The commune to the north and joins road D81. The D261 road branches west off the D61 to Villanova and the coast west of the commune. The D461 road turns east from the D61 in the commune to access the village of Alata where it terminates. The D81 road traverses the east side of the commune and accesses some of the villages there which have no direct connection with the village of Alata. The coastal portion of

1848-546: The death of Henry IV in 1610, work on the palace halted. His son Louis XIII had no intention of continuing construction. Indeed, work did not resume until after the end of the Fronde rebellion in 1653. Between 1659 and 1661, King Louis XIV and Cardinal Mazarin had First Royal Architect Louis Le Vau enlarge the palace, extending it to the north with the addition of the Théâtre des Tuileries . In 1662, Louis XIV celebrated

1904-537: The existing wing on the south side. This wing would connect the Tuileries with the Louvre. This involved tearing down the Manège and other buildings to clear the courtyard, and the construction of a new street, the Rue de Rivoli , named for his victory at the Battle of Rivoli in 1797. After Napoleon's divorce, Pierre Paul Prud'hon was commissioned to design the apartments of his new wife, Marie Louise . Her bridal suite

1960-1040: The garden of the Palais du Trocadéro , the Louvre and the Museum of Decorative Arts . In addition, other parts of the palace are located within France in Arcueil , Barentin , Roybet Fould Museum  [ fr ] in Courbevoie , Château de Varax in Marcilly-d'Azergues , Nantes , Saint-Raphaël and Salins , and other countries such as Schwanenwerder in Berlin , Germany, Bordighera in Italy and Palacio de Carondelet in Quito , Ecuador. The Tuileries Garden ( French : Jardin des Tuileries ) covers 22.4 hectares (55 acres);

2016-521: The garden. At the same time, Louis' gardener, André Le Nôtre , redesigned the Tuileries Garden. Louis XIV fully used his redecorated and enlarged palace for only a short time. The Court moved into the Tuileries Palace in November 1667, but left in 1672, and soon thereafter settled in the Palace of Versailles . The Tuileries Palace was virtually abandoned and used only as a theatre, but its gardens became

2072-401: The gold was on a galley carrying an important official that sank after a fire on board, as it sailed along this coast. This would have happened soon after the coins were minted. But the wreck, itself, was never located. Apparently some underwater geological disturbances or rock slides happened in this area since the 3rd century. There is some evidence that the most expensive piece of the hoard —

2128-482: The ground floor and the Salle des Cents Suisses (Hall of the Hundred Swiss Guards) on the floor above. They also added a rectangular dome. A new grand staircase was installed in the entrance of the north wing of the palace, and lavishly decorated royal apartments were constructed in the south wing. The king's rooms were on the ground floor, facing the Louvre, and the queen's on the floor above, overlooking

2184-603: The highest mountain in Corsica (2706 m). A replication of one of the pavilions of the Tuileries Palace in Paris that burned down in 1871. When, in 1882, it was decided to completely destroy the Palace in Paris, Jerome Pozzo di Borgo , a great enemy of Napoleon I , acquired a large number of the stones to build a house on the family estate located on the heights of Ajaccio to show his supremacy. The reconstruction of

2240-511: The invaders discovered the armoire de fer , a hiding place at the royal apartments, believed to contain the secret correspondence of Louis XVI with other European monarchs, appealing for help. This increased anger against the imprisoned king and queen. The National Convention, meeting in the Manège of the palace, launched the Reign of Terror in 1793–94, leading to the execution of the king and queen, along with thousands of others accused of opposing

2296-523: The looting and damage that had occurred during the Revolution of 1848. Imposing staterooms were designed and richly decorated in what became known as the Second Empire style . The prominent roof lines of the palace, and especially its squared central dome, became influential prototypes; they were adopted for hotels and commercial buildings, as well as government buildings and residences in France and abroad. The new staterooms were theatrical settings for

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2352-529: The northern and southern wings of the Louvre, now familiar to modern visitors, was revealed, and for the first time the Louvre courtyard opened onto the unbroken Axe historique . In 2003, a group called the Committee for the Reconstruction of the Tuileries (French: Comité national pour la reconstruction des Tuileries ) proposed the reconstruction of the Tuileries on its original site. Proponents of

2408-521: The palace remained intact and restoration was possible. Other monuments of Paris also set on fire by Communards, such as the City Hall , were rebuilt in the 1870s. After much hesitation, the Third Republic , more sympathetic to the Commune, pardoned the Commune members exiled abroad. In 1882, despite opposition from Baron Haussmann and historians, they had the walls torn down. The demolition

2464-551: The palace until 1848, when it was again briefly invaded, and the King chased out during the French revolution of 1848 . Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte , the nephew of Napoleon, was elected as the first President of France in 1848, and occupied the Elysée Palace . In 1852, when he could not run again, he crowned himself emperor and moved his residence to the Tuileries. The Tuileries was extensively refurbished and redecorated after

2520-522: The palace's southern wing, consisted of "gilt boxes furnished in the style of the First Empire." His rooms were known to be kept at extremely high temperatures, per his request. Empress Eugénie had her apartment, comprising 8 of the 11 rooms on the bel etage of the southern wing's garden side, above, connected to the Emperor's by a winding staircase. Along this staircase was a mezzanine occupied by

2576-478: The plan noted that much of the original furniture and paintings still existed, put into storage when the Franco-Prussian War began in 1870. In 2006 a rebuilding of the Palace of the Tuileries was estimated to cost 300 million euros (£200 million pounds sterling or US$ 380 million). The plan was to finance the project by public subscription with the work being undertaken by a private foundation, with

2632-764: The tennis court at Versailles to the Salle du Manège . This was the Tuileries' covered equestrian academy, on the north side of the palace, which was the largest meeting hall in the city. It was also used by the Assembly's successor, the National Convention and, in 1795, the Council of Five Hundred ( Conseil des Cinq-Cents ) of the Directory until the body moved to the Palais-Bourbon in 1798. In 1799,

2688-415: The throne room to dinner in the Salon Louis XIV. However, gala dinners were held in the larger Galerie de Diane, the southernmost of the state apartments. If it were a state ball, then refreshments would be set up in the Galerie; and the procession of the imperial party would be from there to the Salle de Maréchaux, which occupied the space of two entire floors of the central Pavillon de L'Horloge and served as

2744-414: The treasurer of the privy purse. The state rooms of the south wing—located on the side facing east to the Carrousel—were used variously, depending on the occasion. At informal dinners, the household would gather in the private drawing room, or Salon d'Apollon, which was separated from the Salle de Maréchaux, in the central pavilion, by the First Consul's Room, or Salon Blanc. The party would proceed through

2800-409: The western end of the Louvre courtyard and displayed an immense façade of 266 metres. Since the destruction of the Tuileries, the Louvre courtyard has remained open to the west, and the site now overlooks the eastern end of the Tuileries Garden , forming an elevated terrace between the Place du Carrousel and the gardens proper. The site of the Tuileries Palace was originally just outside the walls of

2856-431: The work was still in its early stages. His place was taken by Jean Bullant . The 1588 outbreak of conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the city abruptly halted the work, and the unprotected site was abandoned and pillaged. Work did not resume until 1594, when Henry IV made a triumphal return to Paris, and recommenced construction of the Louvre and the Tuileries. He constructed the Grande Galerie , parallel to

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2912-404: Was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine , directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace . It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs , from Henry IV to Napoleon III , until it was burned by the Paris Commune in 1871. Built in 1564, and begun as a home for Queen Catherine de' Medici , it was gradually extended until it closed off

2968-440: Was also used as a hospital during the Franco-Prussian War . Between 1864 and 1868, Napoleon III asked that the Pavillon de Flore, now the southernmost pavilion, be redesigned by Hector Lefuel to match his other modifications to the palaces. It served as the backstairs to the palace, served by a network of service corridors. From the Pavillon de Flore, one could access the sprawling basement, lit with innumerable gas lamps, where

3024-415: Was furnished with furniture and interior decorations in the Greek Revival style. The son of Napoleon and Marie-Louise, Napoleon II , was born in 1811. He was given a residence in the Waterside Gallery of the Louvre, connected to the Tuileries by a short underground passageway, and his own small pavilion in the courtyard, decorated by Fontaine. Following the defeat and exile of Napoleon, the gardens became

3080-435: Was seized by the French justice on the coin market in 1986. Three Corsican divers, Felix Biancamaria, his brother Angel, and their friend Marc Cotoni were involved in these finds, and were convicted in 1994 in court for illegal antiquity trade. In 2010, a valuable Roman golden vessel belonging to the Lava Treasure was recovered by police. Alata, Corse-du-Sud Alata ( French pronunciation: [alata] )

3136-485: Was started in February 1883 and completed on 30 September 1883. Bits of stone and marble from the palace were sold by a private entrepreneur, Achille Picart, as souvenirs, and even to build a castle in Corsica , near Ajaccio , the Château de la Punta  [ fr ] , which is essentially a reconstruction of the Pavillon de Bullant. The courtyard pediment of the central pavilion can be seen in Paris' Georges Cain square  [ fr ] , other pieces are found in

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