The Amorium Mint and the Coin Finds

249 Pages·2012·22.47 MB·English

by  Constantina Katsari

ConstantinaKatsari,ChristopherS.Lightfoot,AdilÖzme
TheAmoriumMintandtheCoinFinds

Constantina Katsari,
Christopher S. Lightfoot, Adil Özme
The Amorium Mint
and the Coin Finds
Amorium Reports 4
Akademie Verlag
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AMORIUMREPORTS4
TheAmoriumMintandtheCoinFinds
Contents
Preface vi
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction
MethodologicalQuestionsintheStudyofCoins 1
Coinsat Amorium 5
Abbreviations 7
Bibliography 9
Check-ListofAmoriumPublications 21
Section1:TheRomanProvincialCoinsoftheCityMint
MapofRomanMintsinAsiaMinor 26
Discussion 27
Catalogue 57
TableofCoinsbyReign 98
ListofMonograms 99
ChronologicalListofInscriptions 101
ConcordanceofMuseumsandCollections 103
Section2:Hellenistic,Roman,andByzantineCoinFinds,1987–2006
MapofByzantineAnatolia 110
Discussion 111
SitePlan 120
Catalogue 121
TableofMotifson AnonymousFolles,ClassA2 166
ASilverDenierofViennefoundat Amorium(byRobertHoge andChrisLightfoot) 167
TablesofCoinFinds 169
ListofMints 172
Section3:SeljukandOttomanCoinFinds,1988–2006
Discussion 173
Catalogue 175
Find-SpotConcordance 179
ConcordanceofSmallFinds(SF)Numbers 194
OnlineLinksandReferences 199
PhotographCredits 200
Plates
Plates1-14:CityMintCatalogue
Plates15-39:AmoriumFindsCatalogue
PREFACE
C.S.Lightfoot
The present volume, the fourth in the monograph series coin of the city mint was found, I also turned my
of Amorium Final Reports, has a long and somewhat attention to gathering data on the provincial Roman
tortuoushistory.In1992,myfirstyearatAmoriumasa coinageofAmorium.Iwasencouragedtopursuesucha
team member, I was invited by the then director, Prof. study principally by Richard Ashton, and his guidance,
R. MartinHarrison (†),toundertakeastudyofthecoin wisdom, and experience were invaluable as I began to
finds. Despite the fact that I had limited numismatic carry out this work, assembling specimens from
experienceand,atthattime,absolutelynoknowledgeof museum catalogues, private collections, and sale
or interest in Byzantine coins, I began to prepare a full inventories. In 1998, however, as a result of my
descriptive catalogue of the coins found that year, mounting duties as field director, I decided to invite
accompanied by a short report for publication. This set Constantina Katsari to take over the completion of the
the trend for allsubsequentseasons,andthesystemhas study. This she did with enthusiasm and exemplary
continued in operation right up until 2009, the most professionalism. She submitted a first draft of her
recent field season. In order to compile a full catalogue catalogue,togetherwithanaccompanyingdiscussionof
of the coin finds, as desired by Martin Harrison, I also the city mint, in 2006. She has since shown great
undertook to study the finds made in previous years, fortitude and patience in waiting for the publication to
namelybetween1987and1991.Thesewerethenadded becompleted.
to the 1992 list to form the basis for the catalogue. By
the mid-1990s, however, it had become clear that the Finally,sinceIhavefailedtomastertheskillofreading
coin catalogue I had prepared for a volume devoted to coin legends in Arabic, I have relied on Turkish
thefirstfiveyearsofexcavation(1988–1992)wouldnot colleagues to identify the Seljuk and Ottoman coins
beforthcoming,andsoIcontinuedtoaddtoitthelistof foundatAmorium. InitiallyTahsinSaatöı(†),formany
finds compiled during the subsequent seasons. Thus for years the curator of Islamic coins at the Anatolian
anumberofyearsthecataloguewascompletelyrevised Civilisations Museum in Ankara, provided his willing
on an annual basis in order to accommodate the latest assistance. It is with much regret that I record here his
additions.Eventuallyin2006Idecidedtodrawahaltto deathin2008.Asaconsequenceofourco-operationon
theseconstantrevisionsandtopreparethepublicationof the publication of the Bolvadin collection in 2000, I
the presentcatalogue.IfIhadnotdonesothen,thereis invitedDr.AdilÖzmetoprepareafullcatalogueofthe
no way of knowing when the (first) final report on the Islamic coins from Amorium. I acknowledge with
Amoriumcoinfindsmighthaveseenthelightofday. sincere gratitude his admirable contribution to the
presentvolume.
As I worked on the coin finds and particularlyafter the
1993season,duringwhichthefirstexampleofaRoman NewYork,June2011
vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people have contributed directly or indirectly to work. Finally, the coin collection of the Afyonkarahisar
the work that wentintoproducingthisvolume.Itisnow Museum was studied in 1996 by Richard Ashton and
almost impossible to recall all of the help that has been John Casey, with the assistance of Mevlüt Üyümez.
received and so, first of all, we must extend our Theyrecordedsixty-fiveexamplesofcoinsfromthecity
apologies to anyone who has unwittingly been left out. mint of Amorium and verygenerouslyprovided us with
There are a numberofpeople whose contributions have their detailed notes, as well as photographs of the casts
been of major importance and they deserve special theymade,sothatwecouldincludetheminSection1of
mention,althoughofcoursenoneofthemshouldbeheld thispublication.
responsible for any of the opinions expressed herein or
themistakesthatremain.Firstandforemost,thanksgoto It is also appropriate to acknowledge here those
Richard Ashton, who encouraged us to undertake the institutions and benefactors that have over the years
project and provided much sage advice and willing supported the Amorium Excavations Project, whose
assistance during the long process of its completion. existence provided the raison d’être forthis publication.
Others scholars who offered valuable advice, expertise, Firstandforemost,wearegratefulforthesponsorshipof
and informationincludeMichelAmandry,MelihArslan, the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, which
Carmen Arnold-Biucchi, Michael Bates, John Casey, also provided annual grants from the time of the
Peter Franke, Zeliha Demirel Gökalp, Teyfik Göktürk, Project’s inception in 1987 until 2006. Dumbarton Oaks
Richard Hoge, Stanley Ireland, Wolfgang Leschhorn, inWashingtonD.C.awardedannualgrantstotheProject
William E. Metcalf, Cécile Morrisson, Adrian Popescu, from 1995 until 2005. The Leon Levy Foundation
Şennur Şentürk, Ahmet Tolga Tek, Oğuz Tekin, and provided generous fundingbetween 2005and2008.The
Peter van Alfen. Additionally, much time, effort, and Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Adelaide and Milton de
assistance have been generously provided by Amorium Groot Fund, in memory of the de Groot and Hawley
team members Serhat Karakaya, Christopher Petitt, and Familieshasalsomademajorannualcontributionstothe
Hüseyin Yaman and by Metropolitan Museum interns Project since 2003. The Project has also been supported
Allia Benner, Jacob Coley, and Victoria Keddie. The bygrants from the Loeb Classical LibraryFoundation in
cleaningofthe coin finds was largelycarried out on site 2006, 2008, and 2009. Finally, from 2001until2010the
by members of the conservation team; they included Amorium Excavations Project was the grateful recipient
KarenBarker,HandeGünyol,EmreEser,InezLitas,and of an annual grant of substantial funds from an
Füsun Sultan Gürsoy. From 2001 until 2006 Serhat anonymousbenefactorintheUnitedStates.
Karakaya was in charge of cleaning and conserving the
coin finds at the site. Hiscarefulandthoroughtreatment Thespecialfontsusedhereforthecoininscriptionswere
and recording of the material has greatly assisted in first created by the late Professor Nicolas Oikonomides
compilingthefollowingcatalogue.Agroupofcoinsfrom in 1986 and subsequently enriched by Glenn Ruby (†)
the first years of excavation was also cleaned in the and the Publications Department of Dumbarton Oaks
Istanbul Central Conservation Laboratory during the (Washington, DC). The authors are very grateful to
winter and early spring of 1993. This work was carried Dumbarton Oak’s programme in Byzantine Studies for
out through the kind assistance of Prof. Dr. Ülkü graciously releasing these fonts for use in scholarly
İzmirligil,Dr.RevzaOzil,andDr.HandeGünyol. publications.
ManyoftheAmoriumcoinfindswerestudiedatvarious Finally, this volumeisdedicatedtoallthevillagers,past
times in the Afyonkarahisar Museum. For this research and present, of Hisarköy. They have welcomed the
workaccesswaskindlyprovidedbythedirectorandstaff excavation team into their midst and become our dear
ofthemuseum;specialthanksgotoMevlütÜyümezand friends. In addition, as the catalogue of coin finds
Ahmetİlaslı.Inordertohouse andsopreservethecoins records, several of the villagers have over the years
from Amorium, a wooden coin cabinet was constructed generously and honestly handed in to the Amorium
in Uşak by the Amorium Excavations Project and Excavations Project numerous coins that theyhad come
donated to the Afyonkarahisar Museum in 2005; much acrossinandaroundthesite.
help and advice was provided by Halil Aröa during this
vii

METHODOLOGICALQUESTIONSINTHESTUDYOFCOINS
C.Katsari
The main purpose of this volume is to bring together Despite their low value, we ought to place some
all the information on the coins that were produced or importance on their recovery, especiallybecause these
distributed at the city of Amorium in Asia Minor. In coins provide accurate indications about the types of
thefirstinstance,itwasdecidedtocompileacatalogue currency circulating in the city and the levels of the
of the Roman coins that were issued by the mint of monetisation in the surrounding area. It cannot be
Amorium from the Roman Republic until the middle doubted that smaller denominations are probably the
of the third century. But such a task would not have most important indication of the extent of the use of
beencompletewithoutthepublicationofthecoinfinds coins and the velocity of cash transactions within a
from the excavations at the site. The director of the specific urban centre. After all, they were employed
excavations has been responsible for the compilation dailyin the markets and they covered the needs of the
of a catalogue of the finds, which range from the majority of the population for less expensive but
HellenistictotheOttomanperiod,markingtherise,the necessary items. Furthermore, the study of the
eventual decline of the city, and its afterlife as a different types of currencies in circulation could also
Turkish settlement. The analysis of the existing demonstrate the economic links that the city had with
numismatic material from Amorium, whether it has neighbouring communities and even with the city of
been found on the archaeological site or not, aims Rome itself. Given the fact that a number of Phrygian
specifically at the historical reconstruction of the cities issued their own bronze denominations
ideology and the economy of the city and its according to their individual weight standards and
surroundings. In order to achieve this aim we have bearing the representations and inscriptions of each
endeavoured to follow the appropriate methodological city, we may be in the position to locate their exact
guidelinesthatwillbeoutlinedhere. provenance, if we find them within the context of the
excavationsofAmorium.Themain problemwiththeir
A variety of diverse methodological tools could detailed analysis is that most of these coins are found
facilitate the process of recovering significant in contexts dated later than the date of their
information from the distant past. Such procedures, production. It is therefore almost impossible to pin-
though, are not always as straightforward or as widely pointexactlyhowlongtheycontinuedincirculationor
accepted in the scholarly community. The fact that when they were finally lost.2 In addition, a large
onlyasmallpartoftheancientmaterialsurvivestoday number of the coin finds (some 200 specimens or
imposes further difficulties in the completion of the 27.5% of the total) are illegible because of corrosion
task. During thepast decades a number ofwell-known and cannot be positively identified; as a result, any
numismatistshaverepeatedlypointedoutthepitfallsin statistical analysis may be distorted to a certain point.
the study of coins. Nevertheless, while some of these Despite the existence of a number of apparent
researchers emphasized the impossibility of drawing difficulties, the economic results from the studyof the
secure conclusions from any numismatic study, others Byzantine coins found in Amorium have already
focused on the solution of the problems and suggested received preliminary publication.3 In this volume we
a series of methods that may facilitate the study of will analyse the circulation of both imperial and civic
certain ideological and economic aspects of ancient currencies at the Roman city and we will also try to
history. In this volume we will also try to overcome a establishthedegreeofmonetisation in theeconomyof
series of methodological problems in order to achieve Amorium during the Roman period. A comparison
ourinitialgoal,anoverviewofthehistoryofAmorium with the excavation finds from the neighbouring city
intheRomanandByzantineworld. of Pessinus and the study of the stray finds from the
Afyonkarahisar Museum will help complete the
It should be noted that the majority of the rich picture of the monetary economy in the region of
numismatic finds from the excavations date to the Phrygia.
Byzantine, not the Roman period. These coins
represent what their owners carried in their purses for ThestudyoftheRomanmintofAmoriumisimportant
their daily transactions in the market and what they for the reconstruction of the regional economy,
couldbestaffordtolose;thatis,mainlysmallchange.1
were silver and 3 gold, while the rest were all bronze or
1 The results of the Amorium excavations can be compared copperalloy;Walker1997,21,n.17.
with the results from the excavations in Athens. It seems 2 Rotroff1997,9.
that ofthe16,557coins found inAthenian Agoraonly182 3 Lightfoot2002.
1