The Treasure of Gourdon (Trésor de Gourdon), unearthed near Gourdon, Saône-et-Loire, in 1845, is a hoard of gold, the objects dating to the end of the fifth or beginning of the sixth century, which was secreted soon after 524. When it was found, the hoard comprised a chalice and a rectangular paten, that were similarly applied with garnets and turquoises in cloisonné compartments, together with about a hundred gold coins dating from the reigns of Byzantine emperors Leo I (457–474) through that of Justin I (518–527). The Merovingian king Clovis I converted to Christianity in 496; the chalice and paten might be called early Merovingian or late Gallo-Roman.
In the sixth century, Gourdon was the site of a monastery, whence these objects may have come.
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| The paten from Gourdon |
The treasure may have been hastily buried in anticipation of a raid. Its recovery was fortuitous: a shepherd girl, Louise Forest, discovered it below a Roman tile engraved with a cross. The treasure was sold at auction in Paris, 20 July 1846, when the paten and chalice were acquired by the State, whereas the documentary coins were dispersed and lost to view.
The treasure is preserved in the Cabinet des Médailles, Paris, a department of the Bibliothèque nationale.
