The Counterweight Continent was home to the Agatean Empire, and was connected to an ice cap,which was in turn connected to The Unnamed Continent. According to legend, it was made of gold. This was simply not true: gold was a common metal there. The Counterweight Continent was also known as "the Aurient" meaning "the place where gold is found". The Counterweight Continent got its name because it served as a counterweight. The currency of the Counterweight Continent was the rhinu which was thought of in Ankh-Morpork as false coinage. The seaport of the Agatean Empire was Bes Pelargic.