A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NUMISMATIC EVIDENCES ASSOCIATED TO MINING ACTIVITIES IN PARTHIAN AND SELEUCID DYNASTIES

Author(s): Hassan Karimian / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Knowledge of the number and location of mines of the ancient periods has been the subject of common research between archaeologists and archaeo-mineralogists. The scientific significance of the subject becomes apparent when the direct relation between the power of the ancient rulers and number of the mines they owned is perceived. The gold and silver mines, like today, were accounted as the main economic credit and backing of the ancient states. Although mixing silver with other metals was used to produce diverse metal artefacts, silver on its own was most popular for minting coins. Since coin was a symbol of the sovereignty of rulers and an indicator of the economic power of ancient civilizations, silver mining was probably one of the main activities of the ancient craftsmen. The main aim of this research is to investigate the conditions surrounding, and the techniques used for, extraction of silver from different mines during the reign of Alexander of Macedon, Seleucid rulers (336-129 BC), and Parthian kings (247 BC-224 AD). The kings, whose coins are studied in this research, ruled in Iran from 4th -1st BC. This research is focused on the laboratory results obtained from XRF tests on 24 coins belonging to the mentioned kings.The analysis of the results revealed that despite the advanced technology used for recovering silver from zinc and lead mines in the Seleucid era, the Parthian craftsmen were not highly skilled in this field. In other words, the silver recovery technology was more advanced in the Seleucid era than the Parthian period

A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK TO APPROACHING LATE ANTIQUE VILLA TRANSFORMATIONAL TRAJECTORIES

Author(s): Dodd James / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

The mutation of the villa in the Western Roman Empire is a key element to our understanding of the transformation of the rural landscape between Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval Period. The archaeology of this transitional phase has long been identified and has been dated to between the 3rd century in some regions and as late as the 6th and 7th centuries and in other areas; however, it is only in the last 20 years that work has begun to examine the phenomenon in detail, with a number of regional studies emerging and a few larger but primarily non-empirical studies undertaken. Despite this, an overarching unified conceptual approach is lacking with little or no attention payed to the trajectories of individual sites. This paper intends to develop and demonstrate a new approach to the phenomenon of villa change, establishing a clear classification system, augmenting the work done by Chavarría (2004) and Ripoll and Acre (2000), categorising the different elements of transformation and applying this to the development of site trajectories It will also discuss the basis and feasibility of a standardised terminology to refer to these diverse features, replacing the biased catch-all phrase ‘squatter occupation’.

A contribution on the Early Bronze Age in Southern Romania and some friendly notes

Author(s): Neculai Bolohan / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2014

The Early Bronze Age in the area between the Eastern Carpathians and the Lower Danube constituted the topic of numerous attempts. A recent contribution concerning this theme was made by Radu Băjenaru, who presented me with the opportunity to have an updated reading of the manner in which archaeological monuments can be analysed. The critical scrutiny, rigorous analysis, direct access to sources, field experience, suggestions for classifying the impressive lot of artefacts analysed, are just some of the author’s cards. In the following, the author of these lines has only the merit of bringing to a written conclusion a number of friendly observations.

A contribution to knowledge of Greek and Roman amphorae found or located in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author(s): Adnan Busuladžić / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

Among the ancient finds at numerous sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina are some amphora sherds. The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a number of amphorae found at Narona, outside Bosnia and Herzegovina. The same is true of the Franciscan monastery in Visoko, which has a few well-preserved amphorae. One of the most important sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina at which amphorae have been found is the Hellenistic site of Daorson. Though they have been the subject of interest from time to time, this is the first paper to give a full picture of the amphorae found or kept in museums in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In terms of typology, these include examples of Lesbian, Rhodian and Corcyran amphorae, the Greco-Italic type, Lamboglia 2, Dressel 2-4, 6A, 20, 23a, 26, 27, 30, 34, 38, Hopfengarten, African: Africana 2 and type XXVII, flat-bottomed amphorae, Forlimpopoli, amphorae with a funnel-shaped rim, Dimmeser Ort type, Pontic amphorae type XX, Benghazi MR type, Eastern Mediterranean type XV, Syrian type, Late Roman 1 type, and Byzantine type amphorae. The sites where they were found reveal marked ancient Hellenistic and Roman influence on their use in Bosnia and Herzegovina: not only Daorson, but also at the sites of Roman villas, in Višići, Panik, and in military forts, urban settlements and the like, where the ancient, Mediterranean and Roman diet was well established. Despite the many archaeological excavations that have yielded amphorae, and their publication as part of the presentation of individual sites, this is the first synthetic treatment relating to the material located in Bosnia and Herzegovina

A copperplate land grant by Raṇasiṃhadeva of the Candrāvatī Paramāras

Author(s): Dániel Balogh / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2010

A land grant issued by Raṇasiṃhadeva of the Candrāvatī branch of the Paramāra dynasty in North-West India has recently come to my attention. It contains a genealogy of the Candrāvatī line from Utpalarāja to Raṇasiṃha. This ruler was hitherto known only from one published inscription (the Roheḍā plates), and has been thought to be a usurper who briefly snatched the throne from the legitimate ruler Dhārāvarṣa. The grant, dated 1 November 1161 CE, makes no mention of Dhārāvarṣa, calling for a reinterpretation of some ambiguous lines of the Roheḍā inscription. It is a possibility that Raṇasiṃha was not a usurper, but ruled as a regent during Dhārāvarṣa’s minority and then willingly handed the throne over to him.

A császárkori feliratok vulgáris latin nyelvi adatainak dialektológiai adatérvényessége

Author(s): Béla Adamik / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 1/2012

A CSÁSZÁRKORI RÓMAI SZARKOFÁGOK ERÓS-„MELLÉKTÉMÁI” ÉS A POLISZÉMIKUS KONTEMPLÁCIÓ

Author(s): László Berczelly / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 1/2008

As a starting point, the author summarizes some unsolved problems and innovative results in iconographical studies of Roman sarcophagi. He puts also forward a proposal of interpreting the decorations on Roman sarcophagi as pictorial incitements for the mourner’s free contemplation. To describe the phenomenon he is introducing the term polysemious contemplation. The selection of examples engaged by him, derives mostly from erotic sarcophagi, especially from the so called sub-motifs.

A csudaszarvas

Author(s): Vilmos Voigt / Language(s): Hungarian / Publication Year: 0

It was likely in early 1926 that Ernő P. Ábrahám's A csudaszarvas (That Wondrous Deer), an overview of Hungarian history for young readers, was published in Budapest. It starts with early Hungarian history (more precisely Hunnic-Hungarian history) and takes us all the way up to the situation after World War I. It is illustrated with Romantic tableaux that depict spectacular scenes witnessed by a young prince named Árva (a name which means "orphan"), who is whisked from one part to the next by his magic steed Tüzes (meaning "fiery"). The mythical csodaszarvas, or wonder deer, appears in several scenes, but it is signified in the book with the more folksy form csudaszarvas (roughly, "that wondrous deer"). The book is very richly decorated, with embellishments, initials and full-page illustrations that portray key scenes from Hungarian history. These were produced in the studio of a contemporary graphic artist, the multi-faceted and renowned Álmos Jaschik. And one of the age's most prominent Hungarian politicians, Albert Apponyi, wrote the foreword to the book. On carefully surveying this foreword as well as the body of the work and the illustrations, one discovers that the book serves a legitimist goal and that it was created for a "boy who lives far away," who received the first, hand-painted copy. This boy was actually the son of the last Habsburg king of Hungary, Charles IV, who had by then died; the heir presumptive to the throne was Prince Otto. The article discusses the multi-layered and informative writing and iconography of the book as well as the author and the designer of the illustrations. A detailed study of both text and images brings out the several phases that went into planning and making the volume. Incidentally, the csudaszarvas variant in the title is well established in Hungarian literature and art. Interestingly, however, it is unknown among latter-day readers. It is revealing that the wonder deer not only shows the way to a new homeland, but also plays a role in the story of the founding of the church at Vác and brings the hero of the book all the way to the modern age. A discussion of the many-sided text and of points about content and iconography is useful insofar as it reveals well-known stereotypes about both early and later Hungarian history.

A Cucuteni A3 settlement at Pocreaca, Iaşi

Author(s): Constantin Iconomu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2013

We present the results of the archaeological investigations carried out in the Neolithic Cucuteni A3 settlement from Pocreaca–Cetăţuia site, Schitu Duca commune, Iaşi county. The excavations unearthed a house platform of fired clay, alongside flint and polished stone tools, tri-chromatic painted and unpainted pottery, and anthropomorphic and zoomorphic idols.

A CULTURE OF MIDDLE BRONZE AGE ON THE TERRITORY OF ROMANIA: WIETTENBERG

Author(s): Ioana-Iulia Olaru / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 12/2017

The present study has in view an ancient period from the History of Art on the territory of Romania, that is the Middle Bronze Age. In this period which itself comes with changes, among which the most important is the spreading of the solar cult, a fact also reflected in art (in the general context of the entire Bronze Age Ŕ which brought social progress, but also an artistic one, if we were to mention a ceramics which tries to reproduce pots from metal), the culture Wietenberg is one of the important cultures of the moment, which comes with special achievements, regarding both the settlements and the ceramics. An enumeration could comprise: settlements disposed in a circle around one, as a fortress, which implies social differences, and one of the found houses has even preserved decorations in the soft clay; the ceramics brings rich, baroque forms and a diverse decor regarding the motifs and the obtaining technique, disposed in registers, with a radial succession (connected to the solar symbolism).

A démokritosi atomok mozgásának problémája Cicerónál

Author(s): Csilla Szekeres / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 1/2007

A De finibus bonorum et malorum I. könyvében a következőket olvashatjuk Démokritos természetfilozófiájáról: „[Démokritos] úgy gondolja, hogy az általa atomoknak nevezett részecskék, azaz a tömörségük miatt oszthatatlan testek úgy mozognak a végtelen űrben, amelyben nincs sem legfelső, sem legalsó, sem középső, sem legutolsó, sem legszélső, hogy az összeütközések következtében összekapcsolódnak egymással.” A concursio szó egyértelműen nem meghatározott irányú mozgást fejez ki: az atomok rendezetlen mozgásuk eredményeként ütköznek össze. A folytatás is ezt az értelmezést látszik alátámasztani, mely szerint a következő melléfogás kizárólag Epikurosé: „Tudniillik azt gondolja, hogy ezek az oszthatatlan és tömör testek saját súlyuknál fogva egy egyenes vonal mentén lefelé hullanak, és ez valamennyi test természetes mozgása”. Következésképpen a démokritosi atomok nem esnek lefelé egy egyenes vonal mentén és értelemszerűen nincsen súlyuk, vagy ha van is, ez nem oka a mozgásuknak.

A Denarius of Trajan Found at the Settlement of the Przeworsk Culture in Kryspinów, Site 3

Author(s): Małgorzata Byrska-Fudali,Tomasz Fudali / Language(s): English / Issue: 11/2016

In the course of the rescue excavations conducted in 2014at site 3 in Kryspinów, Liszki Commune, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, a coin of the Roman period was discovered. The investigations were commissioned by a private investor in association with the construction of ten detached houses.The excavation was carried out under the direction of Małgorzata Byrska-Fudali,M.A., and Tomasz Fudali, M.A.The trenches were discovered north of the Przeworsk culture settlement that had been investigated by the Jagiellonian University in the years 1993–1998.In 2014, numerous features of the settlement type were revealed, such as hollowed buildings (semi-dugouts), postholes, storage and utility pits, and hearths. Based on the archaeological material, this part of the settlement may be linked to the period from phase A3 until the beginning of phase C1 of the Roman period.The coin was found in the filling of semi-dugout no. 304. It is an extremely well preserved Trajan denarius. The only other materials obtained from this location were ceramic vessels. The pottery is represented by hand-made forms, typical, in general, of the early Roman period.

A Dumuzi és Ĝeštinanna című mítosz

Author(s): Anna Krisztina Pintér / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 2/2019

The text Dumuzi and Geštinanna belongs to the problematic group of Sumerian narratives. A possible explanation for the unusual formulations in the text might be the attempt of an ancient scribe to comment on the problems of the stories of the god Dumuzi, which was adjusted to the form of the narrative text. The „author” summarized theological questions in an implicit way, with hermeneutical techniques. The special use of cuneiform signs is one such example applied to refer to the nature of Dumuzi. Also, many other formulas appear in the text, which intertextually allude to the relationship of Dumuzi, the king, and Inana.

A Faience Aryballos in the Collection of the University Museum at Wroclaw

Author(s): Agata Kubala / Language(s): English / Issue: 21/2017

In the collection of the University Museum of Wroclaw is a spherical faience aryballos of unknown provenance. It belongs to a group of vessels which enjoyed widespread popularity over a vast area of the Mediterranean in the 6th century BC. The analysis clearly shows that the spherical faience aryballos at the University Museum of Wroclaw should be classified within section 3 of V. Webb’s classification, that containing the most common and crudest type of faience aryballos. Aryballoi classified within this section were made, judging from their distribution, partly or mainly at Naukratis and they belong in date to the second part of the 6th century. It is likely that the Wroclaw aryballos is the product of an Egyptian workshop, perhaps of that located at Naukratis. An Eastern Greek workshop cannot be ruled out either.

A FASTI-KUTATÁS ÚJ IRÁNYAI

Author(s): L. Zoltán Simon / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 2/2008

„Ovid’s Fasti could never be real poetry” – állapította meg egykor H. Fränkel az Ovidius-filológiában korszakalkotónak számító monográfi ájában, s e lesújtó ítéletnek megfelelően – mely egyébként mindenestül összevágott a XX. században uralkodó communis opinióval – az életmű második legterjedelmesebb darabjának bemutatására alig tíz oldalt szentelt. Annál szembetűnőbb az ezredfordulón látványosan megélénkülő érdeklődés, melynek intenzitását jól mutatja, hogy a 2002-ben, G. Herbert-Brown szerkesztésében megjelent tanulmánykötet 12 szerzője közül nyolcan (A. Barchiesi, E. Fantham, E. Gee, S. J. Green, G. Herbert-Brown, J. F. Miller, C. Newlands és M. Pasco-Pranger) önálló kötetben (monográfi a, ill. kommentár formájában) is közzétették kutatásaikat.

A faunal assemblage from the Iron-Age site of Niculițel (Babadag Culture): Archaeozoologic and archaeogenetic data

Author(s): Simina Stanc,Valentin Radu,Monica Luca / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2014

The faunal remains were collected during the archaeological researches carried out in 1988 and 2000. The analysed assemblage consists of 902 remains, out of which four are human (Homo sapiens). The remains originate from fish, birds and mammals. The mammalian bones number 615 remains, out of which 397 were identified by species. The list of identified domestic mammal comprise cattle (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus), horse (Equus caballus), and pig (Sus domesticus), with domestic cattle prevailing. Only three species of wild mammals were identified: red deer (Cervus elaphus), wild boar (Sus scrofa) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus); the largest number of remains belongs to red deer. There is a single fragment coming from birds and six fragments from reptiles (Testudo graeca and Emys orbicularis). Fish bones are numerous (276), and the identified species are pike (Esox lucius), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), tench (Tinca tinca), wels catfish (Silurus glanis), and zander (Sander lucioperca); the highest share is represented by the common carp. Archaeogenetic analyses were carried out for some swine remains from Romanian territory, dating from the Iron Age, in order to identify their genetic profile. The analysed samples presented two different ancient haplotypes, previously described in the literature, haplotypes that sustained the pattern of spread for the domestic pigs on the European continent.

A few indications on the architecture of Sarmizegetusa Regia. About the andesite columns and the measurement unit

Author(s): Virgil Apostol / Language(s): English / Issue: 10/2019

The archaeological research undertaken at Sarmizegetusa in time has indicated or discovered a number of plinths, drums and bases of andesite columns. Several reconstruction hypotheses are proposed for the architecture of the Great Andesite Temple, the Small Rectangular Temple and the Large Rectangular Temple, based on the analysis of these architectural elements preserved in situ, in a secondary position or reused in Roman buildings. In the end an important archaeological discovery in the area of Orăștie Mountains is presented, a bronze square with markings (lines and dots) preserved on its arms, which indicate precisely the measurement unit used at the Dacian monuments at Sarmizegetusa Regia.

A FEW NOTES ON THE TAMGAS FROM THE GOLDEN PLAQUE IN THE SARMATIAN GRAVE AT DUNAHARASZTI (HUNGARY)

Author(s): Vitalie Bârcă / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2018

We examine herein the golden plaque identified in the looted Sarmatian grave identified at Dunaharaszti. On its surface are rendered three wolves (?) running left and a tamga, all in relief. The tamga is in the shape of two adjoining volutes. The loops are waving inward on the first, and outward on the second. The symbol is believed similar to that ascribed to king Farzoios for whom Olbia struck golden coin grosso modo by the end of AD the 50’ies – end of the 70’ies. Tamga symbols of king Farzoios are mainly known from coins and are in the shape of two half-circles set by the extremities and joined by a vertical line.Upon the examination of the symbol on the plaque from Dunaharaszti it was noted that parallels mentioned for it differ much, while its’ ascribing to king Farzoios farfetched. The author agrees that tamgas with certain deviations from those on the coins for Farzoios had belonged to other individuals, likely, from amongst the group led by this king or from within a group of Sarmatians under the control of the kingdom of Farzoios.The author mentions for the tamga on this plaque a few analogies identical or similar from the north-Pontic area, arguing that some are specific to the region on the right bank of the Dniper. In terms of dating, it is noted they are specific mainly to the period comprised between mid 1st century AD and mid 2nd century AD. It is further mentioned that in the north-Pontic area tamgas with parts similar with that from Dunaharaszti are numerous (in particular, the volutes with loops waving inwards), yet, these are not parallels with the tamga discussed here, according to the author.Last but not least it was noted that the tamga on the plaque at Dunaharaszti is practically the single authentic symbol on a valuable object from the Sarmatian Iazyges environment of the Great Hungarian Plain. Another observation is related to the fact that the tamgas in the Sarmatian Iazyges environment of the Great Hungarian Plain come from a series of finds that span over a period of ca. three centuries, while their number is insignificant. The small number of the tamgas in the Sarmatian Iazyges environment confirms they were used by a restricted number of Sarmatian tribes, the Iazyges from the Great Hungarian Plain not included. This further underlines also that tamgas in the Germanic environment were not adopted from the Iazyges, but reached the Germanic peoples upon contacts and military conflicts with the Sarmatian world from the north-west Pontic area.The plaque at Dunaharaszti dates most likely to the second half of the 1st century AD and reached the Great Hungarian Plain sometime towards the end of the 1st century AD (AD 80’ies) when very likely another Sarmatian migration occurred in the area. The tamga on the plaque evidences, according to the author, the presence in this area of the elites and is evidence, given the approximate period of Farzoios’s rule, that not those Sarmatians in the first wave carried the plaque to the Great Hungarian Plain. This confirms, together with other finds, that the Sarmatians entered this area in a few waves over the second half of the 1st century AD, possibly even by its end. Also, it is concluded that part of those migrating to the area were connected or even formed part for a short while from the Sarmatian group led by Farzoios and Inismeos.Lastly, it is not excluded that the plaque from Dunaharaszti indicates, beside a series of artefacts and elements from several archaeological finds, the presence within the wave of Sarmatians that entered the Great Hungarian Plain of individuals from the elites of the Sarmatians (Alani/Aorsi) who settled the north-west Pontic area starting with mid 1st century AD. This is possible, according to the author, should one keep in mind also that such elite might have been involved in the Iayzgian aristocracy from the north-west Pontic area. Regardless the facts, it is very likely that its representatives played an important role within this wave.

A Few Preliminary Remarks on the Cypriot Sculptures Known as Temple-Boys

Author(s): Maciej Wacławik / Language(s): English / Issue: 21/2017

Although scholars have pored over them for many years, there are still more questions than answers concerning the temple-boy figurines. Aside from canonical presentations, many figurines are considered as belonging to the temple-boy category, even though they do not possess features compatible with it. Symbolic analysis of the manner of their presentation, as well as animals, fruits and other objects held by the boys, shifts the direction of influence from Phoenicia to Egypt, also raising the age of the presented boys to two to three years old. Finally, they might be interpreted as votive gifts to ensure protection and well-being for Cypriot heirs to the throne.

A Few Remarks on the Ransom Paid for Releasing Captives in Selected Early Byzantine Hagiographic Texts

Author(s): Ireneusz Milewski / Language(s): English / Issue: 7/2017

The article analyzes certain early Byzantine hagiographic texts concerning various forms of brigandage (both maritime and land-based). Two such accounts are studied in detail, one by Gerontius of Jerusalem and another by Theodoret of Cyrus. The instances described unveil theweakness of Roman state structures at the borders of the state as well as in lands harassed by barbarianraids, including piracy. Despite certain flaws (mostly the lack of precision), the accounts underdiscussion constitute valuable and reliable sources of historical knowledge.