Larnaud hoard

About

Larnaud's deposit is an archaeological treasure discovered incidentally in 1865 in Larnaud, in the French department of Jura. According to the counts, it is rich from 1784 to 1858 bronze objects, for a total weight of 66 kg, which are dispersed very quickly after discovery. Since 1867, nearly 1500 objects have been located at the Musée d'Archéologie nationale de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, while approximately 300 are preserved at the Musée de Lons-le-Saunier.

The richness of the deposit led Gabriel de Mortillet, in charge of the prehistoric collections of the Musée de Saint-Germain, to create in 1875 the term "Larnaudien" to designate the end of the Bronze Age. If this chronology no longer takes place, Larnaud's repository remains considered an archetype of the "founder hiding place". This deposit, considered a reference, gave its name to Gabriel de Mortillet's "Larnaudian culture", and credibly used the expression fondeur hideout.