Israel Numismatic Research

Published by the Israel Numismatic Society

Volume 12  2017

Contents
 

3 Danny Syon: Numismatic Evidence of Greek Mercenaries at Tel ‘Akko

23 Eitan Klein and Andrew R. Meadows: A Hoard from the Wars of the Diadochi in the Kamun Cave, Western Galilee

35 Haim Gitler and Oren Tal: Circulation of Southern Palestinian Athenian-Styled Fractions after the Conquest of   
     Alexander the Great

47 Eric A. Carlen: The Larger Context of the 1984 Bethlehem Area Hoard, CH 8: No. 432

65 David M. Jacobson: On the Chalkous of the Later Seleucids and of Agrippa II

71 Robyn L. Le Blanc: Founders and Foundation Myths on Civic Coins from Late Hellenistic and Roman Ascalon

99 Rachel Barkay: New Sela‘in of Aretas IV, King of the Nabateans

113 Aaron J. Kogon and Jean-Philippe Fontanille: Three New Unpublished Countermarked Judean Coins

121 Nili Ahipaz, Gideon Foerster, Rachel Chachy, Yaakov Kalman and Roi Porat: The Coin Finds from the 1968–1969
       Excavations at Herodium

135 Yoav Farhi: From Aelia Capitolina to Nysa-Scythopolis: Proposed Reattribution of a Group of Provincial Tetradrachms

147 Oren Tal and Gabriela Bijovsky: A Hoard of Fourth-Fifth Century CE Copper Coins from Sozousa

159 David Woods: The Nea(polis?) Folles of Heraclius

173 Mikhail G. Abramzon: A Hoard оf Byzantine Sixth-Century Folles from Jericho

185 David J. Wasserstein: Content and Context: The Curious Case of a Clipped Coin at Corinth

Abstracts
 
3 Danny Syon: Numismatic Evidence of Greek Mercenaries at Tel ‘Akko
A large group of bronze coins, with a peculiar corrosion pattern, were found in excavations near Tel ʻAkko. Aided by gamma radiography prior to cleaning, the quality and quantity of their identifications were enhanced. They were bronze satrapal coins from western Asia Minor, dated to the early fourth century BCE. That information, together with the North Aegean and Attic imported pottery, and the temporary nature of the structures suggest, when combined with historical sources, that the site was a camp occupied by Greek mercenaries during one or more attempts by the Persians to reconquer Egypt.

23 Eitan Klein and Andrew R. Meadows: A Hoard from the Wars of the Diadochi in the Kamun Cave, Western Galilee
In 2015 two cavers reported to the Israel Antiquities Authority a hoard of ancient silver jewelry and two coins from an inner  chamber of the ‘Kamun Cave’, a large karst cave in Western Galilee. A comprehensive archaeological survey followed, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in cooperation with Hebrew University’s Cave Research Center. This article discusses the two coins from the hoard, and another (bronze) coin found in the survey, and establishes their dates. From the hoard’s estimated burial date it is suggested that the cave served as a refuge for people fleeing from the fighting in the region during the Diadochi period.

35 Haim Gitler and Oren Tal: Circulation of Southern Palestinian Athenian-Styled Fractions after the Conquest of Alexander the Great
While the local southern Palestinian issues imitating the Athenian pi–styled owls depicting the head of Athena with a profile eye are customarily dated to after 353 BCE, the assumption that their circulation ended with the Greco–Macedonian conquest is contested below, suggesting that not only were these coins circulating in Palestine late in the fourth century BCE, but they may have been issued as late as the first quarter of the third century BCE. Our arguments are primarily based on the archaeological context and composition of four different published and previously unpublished hoards.

47 Eric A. Carlen: The Larger Context of the 1984 Bethlehem Area Hoard, CH 8: No. 432
A remarkable group of 41 coins from a 1985 list of Paolo Girardi that came from a single hoard is identified here as a  component of the 1984 Bethlehem Area hoard reported by Arnold Spaer. The larger hoard from which these two parcels came contained a number of particularly interesting and significant coins.

65 David M. Jacobson: On the Chalkous of the Later Seleucids and of Agrippa II
The question of the fundamental unit, the chalkous, of Seleucid bronze coinage has occupied the attention of several scholars. Hoover, like Newell before him, proposed that at the time of Antiochus IV the chalkous weighed roughly 3.0–5.5 g, but in a subsequent currency reform under Alexander I, its weight was halved. Using as evidence the coinage of Agrippa II which, as this author has argued, was denominated in chalkoi but at the same time directly related to the Roman currency system, the existence of a reform by Alexander I — and certainly one that endured — is called into question.

71 Robyn L. Le Blanc: Founders and Foundation Myths on Civic Coins from Late Hellenistic and Roman Ascalon
This article reevaluates the numismatic evidence for the depiction of mythological founders at Ascalon (modern Ashkelon/Ashqelon) between the second centuries BCE/CE. I focus on three figures connected to Ascalon in ancient mythological traditions who had previously been identified on Ascalonian civic coinage: the Lydian generals Moxos and Ascalus and the local goddess Derceto. My analysis highlights how the civic coinage asserted and negotiated political and cultural identities through the use of founders and related symbols.

99 Rachel Barkay: New Sela‘in of Aretas IV, King of the Nabateans
Aretas IV was the most dominant king of the Nabateans, ruling for 48 years, from c. 9 BCE until 40 CE. He was the king to mint the greatest number of Nabatean coins, and many silver, bronze and lead coins of Aretas IV have been published in the past. Many new silver and bronze coins have been identified since the publication of Meshorer (1975) and later updates to his catalogue (Schmitt-Korte 1990; Schmitt-Korte and Price 1994; Hoover and Barkay 2010). Presented here are 19 unpublished types and 13 new variants of Aretas’ sela‘in minted during 19 of his regnal years.

113 Aaron J. Kogon and Jean-Philippe Fontanille: Three New Unpublished Countermarked Judean Coins
The authors describe a dolphin countermark on a coin of Herod, an LF(?) countermark on a 67/8 CE prutah of the first Jewish revolt and a III countermark on a 69/70 CE ‘eighth’ denomination of the first revolt that have recently come to light. The date, place and purpose of the applications of the countermarks are discussed.

121 Nili Ahipaz, Gideon Foerster, Rachel Chachy, Yaakov Kalman and Roi Porat: The Coin Finds from the 1968–1969 Excavations at Herodium
Excavations directed by Gideon Foerster at Herodium (1968–1969), revealed architecture, subterranean complexes and small finds, including 63 coins. These coins, together with those from the Franciscan and Netzer teams, allow us to outline the chronological and historical picture of Herodium during the Roman period. The finds indicate that the intensity of occupation at the site fluctuated, and included periods of high activity and abandonment. In particular, the coins from Herodium attest to a period of decline after Herod’s death, a large-scale rebel habitation during the first Jewish revolt, and a short phase of Roman military presence after the revolt.

135 Yoav Farhi: From Aelia Capitolina to Nysa-Scythopolis: Proposed Reattribution of a Group of Provincial Tetradrachms
The attribution of provincial tetradrachms with Dionysian motifs to Aelia Capitolina is generally accepted today and some 40 types and variants of these large and impressive coins are assigned to the city. Moreover, new and unpublished tetradrachms with Dionysian motifs appearing in the antiquities market are in most cases automatically ascribed to Aelia Capitolina. The following paper discusses the roots of this ascription, questions its soundness and suggests a new attribution for these coins.

147 Oren Tal and Gabriela Bijovsky: A Hoard of Fourth-Fifth Century CE Copper Coins from Sozousa
This article discusses a hoard of 21 copper issues retrieved during controlled archaeological excavations at the site of Sozousa (Apollonia-Arsūf). The hoard, perhaps a foundation deposit, mostly consists of fourth-century CE coins that, together with other early Byzantine coins recovered from the site, contributes to our understanding of the site’s formation, expansion and contraction in the sixth and seventh centuries CE.

159 David Woods: The Nea(polis?) Folles of Heraclius
This paper reviews the different logical possibilities in the case of a small group of copper coins struck under the emperor Heraclius that have been traditionally attributed to a town named Neapolis. The difficulty in identifying the location of this Neapolis, usually identified as either Nablus in Palestine or Limassol in Cyprus, is highlighted, as is the doubt even as to whether the group is really attributable to any town of this name.

173 Mikhail G. Abramzon: A Hoard оf Byzantine Sixth-Century Folles from Jericho
In 2010, a hoard of 54 Byzantine folles of Anastasius I, Justin I, Justinian I, Justin II and Maurice was found during excavations in Jericho. Most of the folles were minted in Constantinople, followed by Antioch and Nicomedia. Follis hoards are the most common type of copper hoards from sixth-century Palestine. The latest coin in the hoard dates to 592/3 CE during the reign of Maurice, providing a terminus post quem for its concealment. However, the hoard’s deposition can be possibly explained by the Persian incursions into Syria and Palestine between 611 and 614 CE.

185 David J. Wasserstein: Content and Context: The Curious Case of a Clipped Coin at Corinth
A stray surface find in excavations at Corinth of an Abbasid coin, clipped into the shape of an octagon, presents a puzzle, both methodologically and historically. The possible date and manner of its arrival in the city are studied and the reasons and context of its clipping are considered. A link with octagonal specimens from Trebizond and Antioch-on-the-Orontes is suggested. Another stray find, this time a Chinese coin, also from Corinth, is studied here for comparison.