Counterfeiting at Le Clos-Paul in Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes, France). Reconstruction trial of a complex chaîne opératoire

Jean-Charles Méaudre (1) , Vincent Le Quellec , Pierre-Marie Guihard (2) , Guillaume Blanchet (2) , Florian Téreygeol (1)

1 IRAMAT - Institut de Recherches sur les Archéomatériaux
2 CRAHAM - Centre Michel de Boüard - Centre de recherches archéologiques et historiques anciennes et médiévales

The excavation of the copper cementation workshop “Le Clos-Paul” in Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes, France), executed by the Cellule d’archéologie du Conseil départemental des Ardennes, led to the finding of fragments of coinage moulds. Dating from the middle of the 3rd century AD, they are the only evidence of an opportunistic production of counterfeits without any direct link to the metallurgical activity of the site. The study of the moulds led to a series of experimentations aimed at understanding the counterfeiting activity in its entirety, from the preparation of the loam intended for moulds to the casting of coins.

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire; Méthodes et statistiques; Histoire

Jean-Charles Méaudre, Vincent Le Quellec, Pierre-Marie Guihard, Guillaume Blanchet, Florian Téreygeol. Counterfeiting at Le Clos-Paul in Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes, France). Reconstruction trial of a complex chaîne opératoire. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021, 36, ⟨10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102858⟩. ⟨hal-03169115⟩