On the Chronology of Roman Coins in Barbaricum. Denarii Finds from the Site of Schineni (Bacău County), V. Cojocaru, A.-I. Pázsint (eds.), Migration and Identity in Eurasia: From Ancient Times to the Middle Ages, Mega, Cluj-Napoca, 2021, 139-165 (original) (raw)

Abstract

During the rescue archaeological excavations from the site of Schineni – ‘La Islaz’ (2017-2020), a multi-layered site was identified, dated from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. The aim of this paper is to present the coin finds from the 2nd-4th century AD settlement. Five Roman imperial denarii were discovered inside three houses (H6, 17, 20). All coins came exclusively from the earliest habitation level of the site (ca. AD 106-170), which is divided into two chronological phases. The earliest issue (denarius of Vespasian, H17) belongs to the first occupation phase of the site (ca. AD 106-150). The remaining denarii (of Domitian – H17, Hadrian – 2 pcs. – H6 and H17 and Marcus Aurelius / Lucius Verus – H20) were discovered in the upper layer, which represents the second habitation phase of the site (ca. AD 150-170). Some of these relics even bear the traces of the fire that led to the destruction of the housing complexes and the cessation of the first habitation level. Among this small coinage batch, there are some very particular issues, such as: a denarius subaeratus (of Vespasian) and two pierced denarii (of Domitian and Hadrian). So far, most of the Roman coins from a ‘Free Dacian’ site have been discovered in the settlement of Schineni. The fact they were found in clear, well-dated archaeological contexts contributes to the understanding of the chronology of Roman coin finds in this part of the Barbaricum. The imperial denarii arrived in Western Moldavia in already formed hoards likely since the first half of the 2nd century AD. Starting with this early period, the local population, of ‘Geto-Dacian’ origin, reworked and awarded them with new functions, different from those held within the Empire.

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