A display of gold coins and jewels uncovered in Europe, said to be hidden during the Black Plague, comes to light at London’s Wallace Collection in recent days. The collection comes with a rich cultural history, dazzling jewels, and intricately designed gold jewelry. The fact that the stash was found in Erfurt, Germany, near the an 11th century synagogue leads some historians to suspect the treasure was buried there by Jews who were concealing them as they became the targets of anti-semitism during the black plague. In 1349, many Jewish families were either forced to flee that area, while 1000 were killed in a pogrom. And, for some reason, which one can only speculate, the owners never returned to collect the booty. This leads some to suspect that they either met their death at the hands of the plague, were killed, or permanently uprooted from the area.

Not surprisingly, this is one of two such stashes of jewelry found in Europe. The other was discovered in France, in 1863, and now sits alongside the more recent discovery, which occurred roughly 10 years ago. Both the treasures show signs of the Jewish heritage, like Jewish wedding rings, inscribed in Hebrew with the words “good fortune.” Others rings had intricately designed miniature houses that also were classic Jewish items. Beautiful brooches with precious and semi-precious stones were also found, including sapphires, rubies, garnets, and pearls.

One of the more unique finds is a medieval toiletry set in gold. It is a set that includes an ear cleaner and a perfume bottle too. There are silver as well as gold items, all intricately carved and finely made, indicating that Erfurt must have been a thriving commercial center during that time, before the Black Plague made it a center of misery.

One can only imagine the fear that led many Jewish families to hide their precious belongings in one area, and the hope they had of one day of recovering them. Sadly, the Black Plague (also known as the Black Death) wiped out many millions of people during the the late medieval ages. It was during these times of stress, that many people turned against the Jews as they were typically viewed as the scapegoats of any bad situation, causing them rightfully to fear for their lives. Other times, they may have simply died as the plague infected every nook and cranny in villages and towns around Europe. Others, may have been so dislocated by misfortunes that they never got back to collect the treasure. Historians do feel with some certainty, due to the cultural icons and designs in both treasure troves, that they represent booty lost by Jewish residents trying to flee some catastrophe, whether man-made or biological in nature. In modern times, we have yet to experience a pandemic the magnitude of the bubonic plague during those times.

The exhibit is due to last until May 10th, and there are no plans to have the exhibition travel the country after that.