v23_0916 - MEROVINGIAN COINAGE - BANASSAC (BANNACIACO) - Lozere Triens, monétaire ELAFIVS

MEROVINGIAN COINAGE - BANASSAC (BANNACIACO) - Lozere

(7th century)

During the first three centuries of our era Banassac, known as Banaciacum, was the second city of Gévaudan after Javols (Gabalum). It extends over the current location of the village, along the banks of the Urugne to the shoe of Malepeyre. Its prosperity is due to the manufacture of sigillated pottery. The pottery workshops were located on the banks of the Urugne. Their establishment is facilitated by the presence on site of good quality clay, the proximity of a river, firewood for the ovens and the vicinity of a communication axis linking Millau to Javols. Banassac was famous again in the Middle Ages thanks to its mints, which made it one of the most active centers in Gévaudan in the 6th and 7th centuries. It was the city where the greatest number of gold coins, sous and triens were minted; some minted with the effigies of Childebert II or Charibert II kings of Aquitaine and Austrasia. According to some, the tenth of the preserved Merovingian gold coins was made in Banassac. Banassac's recurring motif is a vase, perhaps a remnant of a pottery tradition....