The treasure was located on the site of the abbey's former infirmary, which had been completely destroyed during major reconstruction work in the mid-18th century. The assemblage included 2,113 Cluniac denarii and 150 obols wrapped in a cloth pouch lined with leather, plus a small leather pouch containing a ring with a seal and 21 gold Arab dinars.
Most of the silver coins in the hoard were minted at the Abbey of Cluny or nearby, and probably date to the first half of the 12th century. In 930, Raoul, King of the Franks, granted the abbots of Cluny the right to coin money. This important privilege was confirmed shortly afterwards by a diploma from Pope John XI (910-935, Pope 931-935). The monks of Cluny began minting coins in Souvigny at the end of the 11th century, then in Cluny in the first third of the 12th century. The abbey stopped minting during the 13th century. The Cluny dinar (denarius) had a very high value compared to other coins of the time.
The 21 Islamic gold dinars were minted between 1121 and 1131 in Morocco at the Nul Lamta workshop and in the Muslim Spain of al-Andalus, specifically in Almeria, Seville and Granada. At the time Al-Andalus was under the reign of Ali ibn Yusuf, who belonged to the Berber Almoravid dynasty. The Almoravid dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almohads in 1147. The control of trans-Saharan trade networks where West African gold flowed northwards, along with a desire to sustain the spread and strict adherence to Islamic religious ideology, were important drivers of Almoravid expansion.
The Almoravid dinars circulated widely beyond the Almoravid empire's boundaries. Christian kingdoms of Iberia called them "marabotins" and "maravedís". These coins were supplied by West African gold mines south of the Sahara desert, and production peaked around 1120-1130 during the height of Almoravid prosperity. West African goldfields, particularly along the Niger and Senegal rivers, had supplied Mediterranean markets for centuries, with the Almoravids seizing control of key trade hubs like Sijilmasa.
At that time, Western currency was predominantly dominated by the silver denier, with gold coins reserved for rare transactions. No Christian gold currency was issued before Florence began minting its florins in 1252. The presence of Islamic gold dinars thus represents exceptional economic connections and limited use. As to date, archaeologists have discovered only 10 samples of gold dinars in France, demonstrating that such exchanges were reserved for important people and special occasions.
The hoard of coins found in Cluny Abbey probably represents an example of prestige objects being taken out of circulation for safekeeping. It is also further evidence that the regard in which Almoravid coins were held extended beyond their sphere of territorial influence, religious affiliation. A shipwreck hoard found off the coast of Britain in 1995 demonstrates that Almoravid coins were also still in circulation hundreds of years after the end of the Almoravid period. So their imp[ortance remained in time as well.
The discovery at Cluny provides compelling evidence for economic and diplomatic connections between Cluniac monasticism and the Islamic Mediterranean world. The Order of Cluny maintained priories in Christian areas of Spain, and one of them could have transmitted the dinars following transactions with Andalusians, with the hypothesis of direct donation from Christian kings of Spain also proposed.
The treasure is now permanently exhibited in the Galileo passage at Cluny Abbey, the gallery that linked the cloister and the Maior ecclesia, with scenography explaining its discovery, composition, scientific analyses, and restoration.
This blog is original work by TemplarsNow, inspired by the paper Medieval treasure discovered at the Abbey of Cluny, 2017, medievalists.net; In addition to the sources already mentioned in the text and further reading: Medieval Treasure Unearthed at the Abbey of Cluny, 2017, ancient-origins.net; Cluny denarius, 12th century (consulted 2025), cluny-abbaye.fr; Jeff Starck, 2017, Medieval hoard found in France at Abbey of Cluny, coinworld.com; Martin Koppe, 2017, A Medieval Treasure Discovered in Cluny, news.cnrs.fr; Jeannette Plummer Siresa and Gonzalo J. Linares Matás, 2025, “Those who were bound together”: illuminating Almoravid imperial entanglements, AZANIA: ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN AFRICA 2025, VOL. 60, NO. 3, 422–442. The text occasionally quotes brief fragments from these sources under the rules of Fair Use. All online sources mentioned were consulted and verified December 17, 2025, though not always studied in depth. The illustration shows an Almoravid gold dinar of Yahya bin ‘Ali (known as Ibn Ghaniya) dated to AH 543 (AD 1148–1149 and minted at Madinat Qurtuba (Córdoba, Spain), Source collection.beta.fitz.ms, Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY-NC-ND).
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