The story of the Serakhovychi hoard

Abstract

This paper presents the complex history of the hoard of Roman coins found in the Serakhovychi village, Starovyzhivs’kyi district, Volyn’ region, Ukraine in 1935. The hoard's discovery circumstances have never been clarified, while the hoard itself disappeared during World War Two. The ambiguity of discovery details even led to suggestions of the existence of two hoards and several versions of discovery. One version references the elusive J. Pasternak card index but proved uninformative. It is likely that the card index only recorded the basic fact of the discovery. Another version is based on A. Cynkałowski’s account which includes a wealth of fascinating details that were never verified. This account tells of a dugout boat that contained a leather purse or bag with silver coins and amber pieces. Another version of the discovery circumstance is presented by the documents held at the National Archaeological Museum, Warsaw. It lists silver belt fittings or horse bits and coins among the finds. There is no mention of amber, although the museum obtained the hoard only a year after its discovery and after some of its elements were already given away to private individuals. An invaluable aspect of the hoard’s discovery is provided by a participant of these events, who describes her account of events and the find's composition. This first-hand account allows a reconstruction of the discovery circumstances, and the process of the hoard's transition to the museums, and to clarifies the identity and roles of the people that participated in these events. Analysis of all accounts allows for the identification of the exact discovery location and identification of the hoard as a mixed assemblage of coins and jewellery. The available information suggests that the A. Cynkałowski's account is based on a tale fabricated by a person who was not an eyewitness to the events and took it upon himself to embellish the story. This made-up version entered the local folklore and exists to this day. Key words: Serakhovychi, hoard, Roman coins, J. Pasternak, A. Cynkałowski.