The coins of the Goldsmith hoard of Frombork reconcidered / Anna Zapolska

7/23/2019 The coins of the Goldsmith hoard of Frombork reconcidered / Anna Zapolska

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MUZEUM NARODOWE W KRAKOWIE

SEKCJA NUMIZMATYCZNA

KOMISJI ARCHEOLOGICZNEJ PANODDZIA W KRAKOWIE

Krakw 2014

Tom IX


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Komitet naukowy / Scientic Committee:

Peter van Alfen, Aleksander Bursche, Franois de Callata, Karsten Dahmen, Georges Depeyrot,

Zoa Goubiew, Bogumia Haczewska, Wiesaw Kaczanowicz, Elbieta Korczyska, Adam Makiewicz,Mariusz Mielczarek, Ji Militk, Janusz A. Ostrowski, Maciej Salamon, Bernhard Weisser

Redakcja / Editorial Board:

Redaktor / Editor in Chief Jarosaw Bodzek

Zastpca redaktora / Associate Editor Mateusz WoniakSekretarze / Secretaries Kamil Kopij, Dorota Malarczyk

Redaktor tematyczny / Theme Editor:

Peter van Alfen

Redaktor jzykowy / Linguistic Editor:

Peter van Alfen

Recenzenci / Reviewers:

Michael Alram, Michel Amandry, Barbara Butent-Stefaniak, Marek Ferenc, Wolfgang Fischer-Bossert,

Gerard Fussman, Witold Garbaczewski, Dobrochna Gorliska, Johan van Heesch, Lutz Ilisch, Andrew Meadows,Vlastimil Novk, Marek Olbrycht, Tomasz Panl, Zenon Piech, Nikolaus Schindel, Luke Treadwell,

Eliza Walczak, David Wigg-Wolf, Marcin Wooszyn

Redaktor prowadzcy / Managing Editor:

Anna Kowalczyk

Adiustacja tekstu / Editing:Barbara Leszczyska-Cyganik, Monika Myszkiewicz

Korekta / Proofreading:

Marta Orczykowska, Magdalena Pawowicz

Tumaczenia / Translations:

Jarosaw Bodzek, Marcin Fijak

Opracowanie graczne / Graphic Design:

Luiza Berdak

Adres redakcji / Address of the Editorial Ofce:

Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie

ul. Jzefa Pisudskiego 12, 31-109 Krakwtel. (+48) 12 433 58 50

e-mail: [email protected]

Wyczn odpowiedzialno za przestrzeganie praw autorskich dotyczcych materiau ilustracyjnego ponosz autorzy tekstw.Authors of the texts bear the sole responsibility for observing the copyright for illustrations.

Wersj pierwotnNotae Numismaticae Zapiski Numizmatycznejest wersja papierowa.The print edition of theNotae Numismaticae Zapiski Numizmatyczneis treated as its original version.

Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie i Autorzy, 2014

ISSN 1426-5435


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SPIS TRECI / CONTENTS

9 Od redakcji / From the Editors

ARTYKUY / ARTICLES

JAROSAW BODZEK 13 A Note on a Satrapal Coin Perhaps another Mazaces Issue? 20 Uwaga o pewnej monecie satrapiej czyby kolejna emisja Mazakesa?

FRAN STROOBANTS

25 How the Sagalassians Stick to Their Gods. Some Unpublished 3rd-Century Coinsfrom Sagalassos

34 Przywizanie Sagalassyjczykw do wasnych bogw. Kilka niepublikowanych monet Sagalassos

z III wieku

ARKADIUSZ DYMOWSKI, KIRILL MYZGIN

39 Inow and Redistribution of Roman Imperial Denarii in the Area of the Przeworsk,

Wielbark and Chernyakhiv Cultures and in the Baltic Islands in the Lightof Chronological Structure of Coin Hoards

57 Napyw i redystrybucja rzymskich denarw z okresu cesarstwa na terenie kultur przeworskiej,wielbarskiej i czerniachowskiej oraz na wyspach batyckich w wietle struktury chronologicznej skarbw

VITAL SIDAROVICH

71 The Finds of Greek and Roman Provincial Coins in Belarus 88 Znaleziska greckich i rzymskich prowincjonalnych monet na Biaorusi

ANNA ZAPOLSKA

95 The Coins from the Goldsmith Hoard of Frombork Reconsidered116 Monety ze Skarbu Zotnika z Fromborka rozpatrzone na nowo

DOROTA MALARCZYK

117 The Early-Medieval Silver Hoard from the Environs of Gniezno. Islamic Coins128 Wczesnoredniowieczny skarb srebrny z okolic Gniezna. Monety islamskie

MATEUSZ BOGUCKI

135 Czy istniej monety Miecawa, zbuntowanego czenika Mieszka II?142 Appendix [Mateusz Bogucki, Jacek Magiera]143 Are there Coins of Miecaw, a Rebellious Cup-Bearer of King Mieszko II?


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LILIA DERGACIOVA

147 Powizania systemw monetarnych litewskiego i modawskiego na pocztkuXVI wieku

163 Relations between Lithuanian and Moldavian Monetary Systems in the Early 16thCentury

PAULINA TARADAJ

173 Medal z 1789 roku upamitniajcy sejm i uchwa o powikszeniu armiize zbiorw Gabinetu Numizmatycznego Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie

181 Medal Struck in 1789 in Commemoration of the Polish Sejm Resolution on Army Enlargement,from the Collection of the Numismatic Cabinet of the National Museum in Krakow

ANNA BOCHNAK, AGATA SZTYBER185 Monety nowoytne ze stanowiska 28 w Zakrzowie, gm. Niepoomice,pow. wielicki, woj. maopolskie

190 The Modern Coins Found at Zakrzw, Site 28, Niepoomice Borough, Wieliczka County, LesserPoland Voivodeship

PRZEMYSAW MARCIN UKOWSKI195 Wadysaw Bartynowski (18321918). ycie, twrczo i spucizna archiwalna

w zbiorach Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie

214 Wadysaw Bartynowski (18321918): Life, Work and Archival Heritage in the Collectionof the National Museum in Krakow

ANNA BOCHNAK

219 Spis monet polskich i z polskiemi styczno majcych znajdujcych siw zbiorze Emeryka Czapskiego 1846 r. 5 Decembra Wilno pierwszy katalogmonet Emeryka Hutten-Czapskiego, wiadectwo modzieczych zainteresowasynnego kolekcjonera

223 A Register of Polish Coins, and of Those Historically Associated with Poland, in the Collection

of Emeryk Czapski, as of December 5, 1846, Vilnius Emeryk Hutten-Czapskis First Catalogue

of Coins, Testimony to the Famous Collectors Youthful Interests

RECENZJE / REVIEWS

ALEKSANDER BURSCHE

231 TERESA GIOVEPompei. Rinvenimenti monetali nella Regio I, Studi

e Materiali 16, Istituto Italiano di Numismatica, Roma 2013, 395 pages,numerous tables and graphics, ISBN 978-8-8859-1455-1


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ARKADIUSZ DYMOWSKI

238 HELLE W. HORSNS Crossing Boundaries. An Analysis of Roman Coins inDanish Contexts. Vol. 2: Finds from Bornholm, Studies in Archaeology and

History, Vol. 18:2, Copenhagen 2013, 213 pages, ISBN 978-87-7602-188-7 PAWE GOYNIAK

DOROTA MALARCZYK

243 VLASTIMIL NOVK with an excursus by MILENA BRAVERMANOVThe Kel Hoard Revised: Fragments of Islamic Silver Coins, Monumenta

Numismatica, vol. 1, Prague 2010, 115 pages, 24 plates, ISBN 978-80-7007-324-7

249 GABRIELLA TASSINARI Giovanni Pichler. Raccolta di impronte di intaglie di cammei del Gabinetto Numismatico e Medagliere delle Raccolte Artistichedel Castello Sforzesco di Milano (Dattilioteche 1), Raccolte Artistiche delCastello Sforzesco Milano, Edizioni ennerreS.r.l., Milano 2012, 441 pages,illustrations (chiey colour), 20 gures, hardcover, ISBN 978-88-87235-73-9

KRONIKA / CHRONICLE

ANDA JAWORUCKA-DRATH255 Kronika Gabinetu Numizmatycznego Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie (2013)261 Chronicle of the National Museum in Krakows Numismatic Cabinet (2013)

DIANA BOSKA269 Archiwum Numizmatykw podsumowanie projektu po pierwszym roku realizacji273 The Numismatistss Archive: A Recapitulation of the Project Inaugurated in 2013

NEKROLOG / OBITUARY

ANNA ZAWADZKA

279 Jerzy Kolendo numizmatyk (9 czerwca 1933 28 lutego 2014)282 In Memory of Jerzy Kolendo (9 June 1933 28 February 2014)


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Tom IX

Krakw 2014

ANNA ZAPOLSKAWarsaw University

The Coins from the Goldsmith Hoardof Frombork Reconsidered

In 1911, during construction of the road from Frombork (German: Frauen-burg) to Bogdany (Sonnenburg), a deposit of bronze objects, glass beads, and coinswas discovered during gravel extraction.1Altogether, it contained 32 coins, amongthem 28 denarii,2one sestertius, two undetermined bronze coins, and one solidus.In addition, there were numerous bulas (damaged, with traces of repair, semi-nished and unnished ones), eight buckles, a wire ring, two cast bronze rings, two

blue glass beads, a jasper bead, a fragment of a bronze vessel, as well as a frag-ment of an undetermined damaged bronze object, which may have been originallya tool, and a bronze ingot. Some fragments of leather were also found.3

The place of discovery was interpreted as a hill fort,4and the elevation itselfwas called Devils Hill (Teufelsberg) by the locals. The coins and the rest of the

bronze objects were probably put originally into a leather pouch (bulgatype), asindicated by some leather fragments that accompanied the nd and possibly twocast bronze rings, used probably as parts of a lock.5There were no traces of any

1The author of this article acknowledges the funding received from the National Centre of Science, gran-ted on the basis of Decision no. DEC-2011/02/A/HS3/00389. I would like to thank Prof. Aleksander Bursche,Dr. Bartosz Kontny, and Dr. Adam Cieliski for their valuable comments. Thanks are also due to Prof. FernandoLpez Snchez for consultation on the dating of the solidus and Dr. Magdalena Natuniewicz-Sekua for the infor-mation about the whereabouts of some of the objects forming part of the original hoard.

2Peisers publication contains the erroneous information of 27 denarii, including three that were stolen byroad construction workers (F.E. PEISER, H. KEMKE, Der Depotfund von Frauenburg,Prussia23, 19141919,p. 58). As a matter of fact, there were as many as 28 silver coins, of which 25 have been described in more detail (cf.the catalogue at the end of this article). The le of Kurt Regling, curator of the Mnzkabinett in Berlin, mentions26 denarii (which is very likely a mistake, too), one gold and three bronze coins (cf. Regling, Nachla). A record

in the le proves that Regling had no access to the objects and could only consult the relevant literature available.3PEISER, KEMKE, Der Depotfund, p. 58.4Die Kiesgrube liegt auf dem groen, aus Sand und Lehm aufgebauten Plateau, welches von der Baude

stlich dann nrdlich umossen wird, und zwar auf einem Anberg SO vom Dom, NW von Sonnenburg, sdlichder neugebauten Chaussee, dicht an einem kleineren Hgel mit tiefen, mehr oder weniger jungen Lchern, dessenFormation ihn als einen kleinen Burgwall erscheinen lassen knnte (IIDEM, p. 58).

5IIDEM, pp. 6166; A. BURSCHE,Illerup dal. Die Mnzen, vol. 14, Moesgrd 2011, pp. 6365, g. 69.


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human remains alongside the hoard,6which would exclude the possibility of a bu-rial. The deposit was interpreted as the belongings of a goldsmith who exchangedhis products for coins.7It was most probably hidden away in a hurry, as attested bythe semi-nished and unnished items. One of the bronze objects, of unidentieduse, may have been a tool fragment. Unfortunately, only this single fragment of theobject has survived; the other part was lost shortly after the discovery of the deposit.8

All the objects were originally kept at Frombork in the collection of the lo-cal cathedral library as part of the so-called Schausammlung des Domkapitels in

Frauenburg,which was made available to the public in around 1905.9The coins,with the rest of the collection, were lost most likely at the end of World War II orvery soon afterwards.10It is probable that it may have been evacuated before thetown was destroyed by the Russian Red Army in February 1945, which resultedin the transport of the collection, or at least some part of it, to Berlin.11It is similarto the fate of the collection housed at the Lyceum Hosianum in Braniewo, whichwere secured in late February/early March 1945 and transported to the NationalMuseum in Warsaw in the years19461948.12

It is worth having a broader view of the coins found along with the hand-crafted objects, half-nished items, and the other bronze scrap. They had been

6The rst mentions of the discovery of this hoard come from 1911 and were featured in the journalsBer-linerMnzbltter andBltter fr Mnzfreunde(ANON, Mnzfunde,Bltter fr Mnzfreunde1911, 46, col.4876). According to one of them, the nd unearthed near Frombork contained denarii representing a time-scalefrom the reign of Vespasian to Commodus, a coin of Theodosius II, and three bronze coins, along with somejewellery of bronze, beads, etc., and human remains: () bei Frauenburg in Ostpreuen Denare aus der Zeit vonVespasian bis Commodus, ein Aureus des Kaisers Theodosius 2. etwa aus dem Jahre 485, auch 3 Bronzestcke,sowie Fibeln, Glassperlen, geschliffene Steine, Ringe, Schnallen, Nadeln mit Resten menschlicher Gebeine aus-gegraben worden sind (ANON, Mnzfunde,Berliner Mnzbltter1911, 120, p. 242). This is the only instanceof a note that referred to human remains, which would not be mentioned in any of the later publications.

7Man hat es offenbar mit dem Schatz eines Bronzegiessers zu tun, der im Norden Hausierhandel getrie-

ben haben wird derart, dass er den Bewohnern Bronzearbeiten anfertigte und dafr Mnzen eintauschte(ANON,Mnzfunde,Bltter fr Mnzfreunde, 1911, 46, col. 4900). 8PEISER, KEMKE, Der Depotfund, pp. 6869. 9The Frombork collection comprised wax and metal seals, stamps, medals, parchments, old prints, and

other assorted antiquities (such as faience beads and pottery from Egyptian burial sites from about 2500 BC, earlyChristian glassware of the 5thcentury from the catacomb graves in Rome) as well as Roman coins (B. FAENSEN,Antikensammlungen in Ostpreussen, Berlin 2011, p. 202).

10 S. BOLIN, Die Funde rmischer und byzantinischer Mnzen in Ostpreussen, Prussia 26, 1926,p. 207; K. GODOWSKI, Fromborski skarb z okresu wdrwek ludw, Komentarze Fromborskie4, 1972,p. 57; FAENSEN,Antikensammlungen, p. 202.

11Two brooches from the deposit have been identied by Dr. Magdalena Natuniewicz-Sekua in so-calledPrussia Sammlungat the Museum fr Vor- und Frhgeschichte in Berlin, inv. nos. Pr 4223b and Pr 4227 (cf.

M. NATUNIEWICZ-SEKUA,Zotnictwo spoecznoci kultury wielbarskiej Wysoczyzny Elblskiej ze szczegl-nym uwzgldnieniem wybranych zabytkw z cmentarzyska w Weklicach,Warszawa 2012, pp. 101102, typescriptof doctoral dissertation).

12According to B. Faensen, some of the objects from the Braniewo collection may be kept in Russian collec-tions (B. FAENSEN, Das Antik Archologische Kabinett am Lyceum Hosianum in Braunsberg (Braniewo).Aus der Geschichte der Altertumssammlung und des Lehrstuhls fr Klassische Philologie einer katholischenHochschule im Ermland,Berliner Beitrge zum Nachleben der Antike2, 2000, p. 82).

ANNA ZAPOLSKA


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described and determined on the basis of the catalogues of Cohen and Sabatier,13and subsequently determined according to the modern edition of the RIC (RomanImperial Coinage) by R. Cioek.14

At the present time, it is difcult to identify the author of the rst descriptionand denition of the coins from Frombork. As the extant sources offer no mentionto the effect that any specimens of this deposit would have reached the numismaticcircles in Berlin, the determination may have been performed by F.E. Peiser, anorientalist by education,15who studied Assyriology and Arabic philology in Ber-lin and Leipzig. After he obtained his post-doctoral degree (1890), he worked as

Privatdozentin Wrocaw (Breslau at the time), notably as a lecturer in Assyriology.In 1894, he moved to Knigsberg, where he worked as a lector of ancient NearEastern languages (Assyrian, Aramaic, Syriac, Hebrew, and Arabic) and lecturedon the history of the ancient Near Eastern states. Interestingly, Peiser managed toamass a fairly large collection of antiquities, the origin of which is traced back tohis honeymoon trip to Istanbul. The artefacts he had purchased included some claytablets and other Oriental objects.16

DENARIIThere were originally 28 denarii in the deposit, of which three were lost just af-

ter the discovery. The presence of the silver coins is not surprising. The occurrenceof denarii in the territories of the Central-European Barbaricum is quite common

13PEISER, KEMKE, Der Depotfund, pp. 6061.14 These determinations (R. CIOEK, Katalog monet rzymskich na Pomorzu, Warszawa 2001, p. 50;

R. CIOEK Die Fundmnzen der rmischen Zeit in Polen: Pommern, Warszawa 2007, pp. 4749) would belater veried by the author. In the case of the Hadrian coin, R. Cioek fails to mark Peisers observation (PEISER,KEMKE, Der Depotfund, pp. 6061) that the exergue legend on the reverse is COL AVG, which he misin-terpreted (it should have been rendered as SAL AVG). R. Cioek determined another denarius (that of Antoninus

Pius) described by Peiser as hnlich wie 5(Cohen II S. 343 Nr. 740 authors note), aber vs. PPTRPXV (),identically as coin no. 5, despite the fact that the two were very much different in their representations and leg-ends of the reverse. A similar error in identication was made with regard to coins nos. 9 and 10, mentioned byPeiser. R. Cioek overlooked the annotation that the reverses of these two coins have different legends. One of thedenarii of Marcus Aurelius was described by Peiser as ungefhr wie Cohen III S. 77, Nr. 808, while R. Cioekidentied it as type RIC 932, which in fact refers to the dupondius struck under the emperor. As regards the twoposthumous coins for Marcus Aurelius, R. Cioek likewise overlooked Peisers note that the eagle depicted on thereverse is faced to the side other than for the type known from Cohens catalogue. There are also some discrep-ancies concerning the bronze coins. In her catalogue, R. Cioek listed four of them: one sestertius of AntoninusPius for Faustina I, one as of Antoninus Pius, and two undetermined bronze coins. The sestertius of AntoninusPius is thus misidentied; it is in fact a denarius. The coin determined as that of Antoninus Pius is specied asa sestertius of that emperor in the sources (ANON, Mnzfunde,Berliner Mnzbltter 1911, 120, p. 242;

ANON,Mnzfunde,Bltter fr Mnzfreunde, 1911, 46, cols. 4876, 4900). The last discrepancy concerns thedenarius determined as a coin of Commodus by Peiser, which R. Cioek interprets as a non-existing coin type ofthat emperor. In fact, however, she did not take note of the legend cited by Peiser, obviously pointing to a coin ofHadrian minted for Aelius Caesar (cf. Catalogue).

15This supposition may be justied by a number of inaccuracies in descriptions and identications of thecoins from the deposit in question. Such errors would not have been made by a professional numismatist.

16FAENSEN,Antikensammlungen, pp. 185186.

THE COINS FROM THE GOLDSMITH HOARD...


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in all archaeological contexts beginning from the Late Roman Period,17that is inhoards, settlement nds, graves and cemeteries, votive deposits, where primarily2nd-century Roman denarii would be found.18The oldest denarius from the depositis a coin of Titus (AD 80), and the latest is a denarius of Commodus dated to 192.Apart from the denarius of Titus, all the silver coins were minted during the reignsof the Antonine dynasty. The most numerous are coins of Marcus Aurelius (8), therest being denarii of Antoninus Pius (7), Commodus (5), Trajan (2), and Hadrian(2). As can be seen, the deposit has a structure typical of nds from the Barbaricum,corresponding with the hoards of the so-called later chronological structure.19

17

Except for Republican and Augustan coins, there are practically no records of any deposits of Romancoins datable to the early Roman Period from the territories of the Central-European Barbaricum. It is con-rmed by the archaeological contexts of the nds from compact sites, e.g., the coins found inside the burials (cf.A. BURSCHE, J. OKULICZ, Groby z monetami rzymskimi na cmentarzysku kultury wielbarskiej w Weklicachkoo Elblga in: J. ANDRZEJOWSKI (ed.), Comhlan. Studia z archeologii okresu przedrzymskiego i rzymskiegow Europie rodkowej dedykowane Teresie Dbrowskiej w 65. rocznic urodzin, Warszawa 1999, pp. 141163;J. BEMMANN, Zur Mnz- und Mnzersatzbeigabe in Grbern der Rmischen Kaiserzeit und Vlkerwander-ungszeit des mittel- und nordeuropischen Barbaricums in: H.-J. HLER (ed.), Neue Forschungsergebnissezur nordwesteuropischen Frhgeschichte unter besonderer Bercksichtigung der altschsischen Kultur imheutigen Niedersachsen, Hannover 2005 (Studien zur Sachsenforschung, vol. 15), pp. 162; BURSCHE, Il-lerup dal, pp. 6971; A. BURSCHE, A. ZAPOLSKA, Die Markomannenkriege und der Zuuss rmischerMnzen in das Ostseegebiet (forthcoming).

18

Cf. L. LIND,Romerska denarer funna i Sverige, Stockholm 1988; F. BERGER, Untersuchungen zu rmer-zeitlichen Mnzfunden in Nordwestdeutschland, SFMA, vol. 9, Berlin 1992; A. BURSCHE, Die Markomannen-kriege und der Zuu rmischer Mnzen in das Barbaricum in: H. FRIESINGER, J. TEJRAL, A. STUPPNER(eds.),Markomannenkriege Ursachen und Wirkungen. VI. Internationales Symposium Grundprobleme derfrhgeschichtlichen Entwicklung im nrdlichen Mitteldonaugebiet, Wien 23.26. Nov. 1993, Brnn 1994, pp.471473; F. BERGER, Roman coins beyond the northern frontiers: some recent considerations in: C.E. KING,D.G. WIGG (eds.), Coin Finds and Coin Use in the Roman World, The Thirteenth Oxford Symposium on Coin-age and Monetary History, 2527.03.1993, A NATO Advanced Research Workshop , SFMA 10, Berlin 1996, pp.5161; F. BERGER, Die rmischen Fundmnzen in Niedersachsen und Westfalen. Kontext und Funktionenin: NIEBORW, pp. 395416; H. KOMNICK, Rmerzeitliche Mnzfunde in Nordostdeutschland zwischenElbe und Oder in: NIEBORW, pp. 113133; A. DYMOWSKI, Recording recent Roman coin nds from Po-land,Polish Numismatic NewsVIII, 2009, pp. 195208; A. ZAPOLSKA, Rmische Mnzen aus dem westenTeil des Westbaltischen Kulturkreises Kontexte und Funktionen, Numismatick sbornik24, 2010 (2009), pp.

122126; H. W. HORSNS, Crossing Boundaries. An Analysis of Roman Coins in Danish Context. Vol. 1:Findsfrom Sealand, Funen and Jutland, Copenhagen 2010; BURSCHE,Illerup dal, pp. 6974; A. DYMOWSKIZnaleziska monet rzymskich z terenu Polski rejestrowane w pierwszych latach XXI wieku: aspekty rdoznaw-cze, Zielona Gra 2011, pp. 6182. A. Dymowski has recently proposed a slightly different dating of the denariiinow into the North-European Barbaricum. He suggests that the rst wave of silver coins reached the territoriesof the Przeworsk and Wielbark cultures already during the emperor Trajans reign, possibly in connection withhis campaigns in Dacia. Another wave of denarii is dated to the nal years of Hadrians reign or the early yearsof Antoninus Pius, and the next one would be linked with the beginning of the Marcomannic Wars under MarcusAurelius. (A. DYMOWSKI, Chronologia napywu denarw rzymskich z IIII w. na ziemie Polski w wietleanalizy nowego materiau ze znalezisk drobnych, Wiadomoci NumizmatyczneLVII, 2013, pp. 112114). In myopinion, considering the absence of Roman coins in the archaeological contexts datable to the early phase of theRoman Period, the beginning of the inux should be set down at the turn of the early and late phases of the Roman

Period, i.e., Marcus Aurelius reign.19The hoards of later chronological structure are marked by a majority of coins ranging from AntoninusPius to Commodus. To date, the phenomenon of the existing differences in the deposit structures has not been con-vincingly explained, cf. R. REECE,Roman coin hoards in Dacia and beyond in: R. REECE (ed.),Roman Coinsand Archaeology. Collected Papers, Wetteren 2003, pp. 295304; R. REECE, Roman silver goes abroad in:NIEBORW, pp. 5973; DYMOWSKI, Chronologia, pp. 93149; H. W. HORSNS, Crossing Boundaries.An Analysis of Roman Coins in Danish Context. Vol. 2:Finds from Bornholm, Copenhagen 2013.

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The time of a mass inux of denarii to the Barbaricum should be correlatedwith the beginning of Marcus Aureliuss reign. The latest coins in a majority of thehoards recorded over the area under consideration would be those of this emperor(or of his direct successors). The inux lasted only a fairly short time, from theearly years of Marcus Aurelius reign until the early reign of Septimius Severus.The causes for such an abundance of silver coinage streaming into the Barbaricumwould stem from the political situation in the Roman Empire during the 160s. Theongoing campaigns against the tribes of the Marcomanni, Quadi, and the Yazygesin the Middle Danube region appeared to compel the emperor to pay out subsidiesto the so-called superiores Barbariwho lived further from the limes. Regainingcontrol of the political and military situation and rebuilding the limesby SeptimiusSeverus put an end to the threat posed by the northern neighbours of the Empire aswell as to the necessity of paying subsidies for peace along the borders.20

Despite this intensive inux of denarii to the Barbaricum being so short, theiruse extended well beyond the Roman Period. They would often be found in con-texts dated to the Migration Period, with single pieces even being found in early-medieval contexts.21However, the presence of the latter should not be taken asan indication of Roman silver coinage having been continuously in use over sucha long time, although the denarii recorded from 5th- or 6th-century contexts andsettlements prove that they had remained in use since the moment of their in-ux until then.22Therefore, the occurrence of 28 denarii along with a Late-Roman

20P. KEHNE, Formen rmischen Auenpolitik in der Kaiserzeit. Die auswrtige Praxis im Nordgren-zenbereich als Einwirkung auf das Vorfeld, Hannover 1989, pp. 432440; F. BERGER, Untersuchungen, pp.158160; BURSCHE, Die Markomannenkriege, pp. 471475; P. KEHNE, Das Instrumentarium kaiser-zeitlicher Auenpolitik und die Ursachen der Markomanenkriege in: H. FRIESINGER, J. TEJRAL, A. STUPP-NER (eds.),Markomannenkriege Ursachen und Wirkungen. VI. Internationales Symposium Grundproblemeder frhgeschichtlichen Entwicklung im nrdlichen Mitteldonaugebiet,Wien 23.26. Nov. 1993, Brnn 1994, pp.

3950; BERGER, Roman coins, pp. 5961; R. WOLTERS,Nummi Signati, Untersuchungen zur rmischenMnzprgung und Geldwirtschaft, Mnchen 1999, pp. 385389; M. ERDRICH, Rom und die Barbaren. DasVerhltnis zwischen dem Imperium Romanum und den germanischen Stmmen vor seiner Nordwestgrenze vonder spten rmischen Republik bis zum Gallischen Sonderreich,Rmisch-Germanische Forschungen 85, Mainza. Rhein 2001, pp. 127128; P. KEHNE, Ausknfte antiker Schrifquellen zu Umstnden und Grenordnungendes Abusses rmischer Mnzen ins Barbaricum vom 1.5. Jahrhundert n. Chr. Eine Problemskizze in:NIE-BORW, pp. 7588; A. BURSCHE, 2011, pp. 6971; BURSCHE, ZAPOLSKA, Die Markomannenkriege.

21A. ZAPOLSKA, Denary rzymskie znajdowane w kontekstach wczesnoredniowiecznych na ziemiachpolskich, Wiadomoci NumizmatyczneLI, 2007, pp. 149178.

22V. ZEDELIUS, Sptkaiserzeitlich-vlkerwanderungszeitliche Keramik und rmische Mnzen von Laat-zen, Ldkr. Hannover,Materialhefte zur Ur- und Frhgeschichte Niedersachsens 8, Hildesheim 1974, pp. 2326;J. GAUL, Denary rzymskie z I i II w. w znaleziskach z okresu wdrwek ludw w zachodniej stree Morza Ba-

tyckiego, Wiadomoci Numizmatyczne XXVII, 1983, pp. 238249; A. BURSCHE, Fourth century solidi fromZagrzyn hoard,Polish Numismatic NewsVII, 2003, p. 53; M. MARTIN, Childerichs Denare Zum Rck-strom rmischer Silbermnzen ins Merowingerreich in: H. FRIESINGER, A. STUPPNER (eds.),Zentrum undPeripherie. Gesellschaftliche Probleme in der Frhgeschichte, Mitteilungen der Prhistorischen Kommissionder sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse 57, Wien 2004, pp. 241278; A. BURSCHE, Rola rde numizmatycznych w badaniach nad sytuacj osadnicz i kulturow u schykustaroytnoci in: M. PARCZEWSKI (ed.), Archeologia o pocztkach Sowian, Rzeszw 2005, pp. 203214;



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solidus23and some other artefacts dating from the Migration Period in one depositis not unusual at all.

BRONZE COINS24

The deposit also contained 3 bronze coins: 1 sestertius and 2 undeterminedpieces. The sestertius was struck under Antoninus Pius, which could be correlatedwith the denarii from the same hoard.

The occurrence of the Roman bronze coins in the Central-European Barbari-cum was linked with circumstances that were very different from those in connec-tion with the denarii. Their inux was limited to a very small area, inhabited bythe Western Balt tribes. Several nds are also known from the Pomerania regionand the southernmost area of the Jutland Peninsula.25 In contrast to other partsof the North-European Barbaricum, almost exclusively bronze coins have beenfound in the Western Balt milieu, undoubtedly as a result of exchange connectedwith the amber trade.26Among the bronze coins found in this area, a vast majorityare those minted under the Antonine dynasty, which is chronologically similar toother (silver and gold) coins from the rest of the Barbaricum. There is a very smallrepresentation of 1st-century bronze coins. As in the case of denarii, the beginningof the inux of bronze coinage is datable to the early years of Marcus Aureliussreign, i.e., in the 160s, but it would last much longer than that of the silver coins,namely until as late as the 260s. The inow ceased due to the termination of theminting of bronze coins, the result of the complicated political and economic situ-ation within the Empire.27

J. COCHET,Le tombeau de Childric Ier (481). Avec une note complmentaire de G. Depeyrot, Wetteren 2008,

pp. 275291, pp. 304305; A. BURSCHE Functions of Roman coins in Barbaricum of Later Antiquity. An an-thropological essay, in: NIEBORW, 2008, pp. 404405; BURSCHE,Illerup dal, p. 70.23See below.24This category comprises all the coin types minted during the early and high Empire: brass sestertii and

dupondii as well as copper asses. 4th-century folles from the area of the Western Balt settlement are practicallyunknown.

25Apart from the single pieces and deposit nds, we know of three sestertii hoards: GdaskKrakowiec,GdaskMartwa Wisa, and Pruszcz Gdaski, for the Vistula estuary region (CIOEK,Die Fundmnzen, p. 50,cat. no. 72; ibidem, p. 51, cat. no. 73 as GdaskNowy Port; ibidem, p. 186, cat. no. 265). Likewise, three hoardsof large bronze coins have been found in the Jutland Peninsula: Bad Gandersheim (FMRD VII, 6004), Winnefeld(FMRD VII, 7051), Neumnster (FMRD VIII, 1036).

26A. BURSCHE, Roman AE coinage on the South Baltic coast in: B. HRDT, B. WYSZORMIRSKA-

-WEBART (eds.), Contacts across the Baltic Sea during the Iron Age (5th

12th

Centuries), Lund 1992, pp. 114;W. NOWAKOWSKI, Od Galindai do Galinditae. Z bada nad pradziejami batyjskiego ludu z Pojezierza Ma-zurskiego,Barbaricum4, Warszawa 1995; W. NOWAKOWSKI,Das Samland in der rmischen Kaiserzeit undihre Verbindungen mit dem rmischen Reich und barbarischen Welt, MarburgWarszawa 1996; ZAPOLSKA,Rmische Mnzen, pp. 115131; A. ZAPOLSKA, The inux of Roman coins to the West Balt cultureenvironment,Notae NumismaticaeZapiski NumizmatyczneVIII, 2013, pp. 105122.

27Ibidem; BURSCHE, ZAPOLSKA, Die Markomannenkriege (forthcoming).

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It can be concluded from the composition of the bronze coin pool knownfrom the various provinces of the Roman Empire and beyond that their inuxoriginated in Italy and led through the Rhineland provinces down to the Rhineestuary. From there, the route would lead over the North Sea to the foot of theJutland Peninsula, and then via the long fjords and a short land passage (most prob-ably, Treen-Schlei) across to the Baltic Sea and along the coast. This change inthe exchange routes for amber compared with the Early Roman Period was most

probably caused by the Marcomannic Wars in the Middle Danube area.28A smallconcentration of hoards in the Gdask Bay area may be, on the one hand, evidenceof the new trade route, while, on the other, it may indicate that the settlementsof theWielbark culture in the Vistula estuary area would have also participated insupplying amber to the Romans. The presence of three Roman bronze coins in theFrombork hoard deposited in the borderland between the Germanic and Balt settle-ment environments is not therefore an isolated case.

SOLIDUSThe last coin to be described here is a solidus of Theodosius II, 29which was

most probably minted at Constantinople in 431.30 It sets a numismatic terminuspost quemfor the Frombork deposit. The beginnings of the inux of solidi into thearea along the south coast of the Baltic Sea are extremely difcult to determine

because of the absence of well-documented hoards. It is now assumed that it mayhave originated around the mid-5th century; the earliest recorded pieces includesome 4th-century coins of Valentinian I and Theodosius I, yet they may have very

28ZAPOLSKA, The inux; BURSCHE, ZAPOLSKA, Die Markomannenkriege (in print).29Peiser cited a partial description of the coin and specied the type as based on Sabatiers catalogue.

According to the latter source (J. SABATIER, Description gnrale des monnais byzantines frappes sous lesempereurs dorient depuis Arcadius jusqua la prise de Constantinople par Mahomet II, Paris 1862, p. 116, no.14, tab. VI:5):Rv. VOT XXX MVLT XXXX ou avec lettre B ou ou ou ou ou . Rome casque et assise g., tennat un scepter et le globe crucigre; derrire, un bouclier, quelquefois avec une toile dans le champ; laexergue, CONOB ou TESOB; Peiser (PEISER, KEMKE, Der Depotfund, p. 60), Godowski (GODOWSKI,Fromborski skarb, p. 58), and Cioek (CIOEK, Die Fundmnzen, p. 49) give a false rendering of thelegend: VOT XXX MVLT XXXB. There is no such coin type at all. Apparently, R. Cioek follows the renderingof the legend as stated in: GODOWSKI, Fromborski skarb, p. 58, where the error in the coin weight rstappeared. Peiser stated the weight of that coin in grans (7 gr. = 4.55 g; cf. F. FREIHER VON SCHRTTER (ed.),Wrterbuch der Mnzkunde, Berlin 1930, p. 234, but Godowski, and subsequently Cioek, rendered it as 7 g,

which would not correspond to the weight of a solidus (ca. 4.5 g).30R. CIOEKdates this coin within a broader margin, 430440. The discovery of the hoard from Sovanain Sicily, with as many as 498 solidi of Theodosius II, made it possible to determine a more strict chronology forthese coins. The minting of that exceptionally large series of gold coins, as F. Lpez Snchez assumes, may havebeen related to Theodosius IIs campaign against the Vandals (led by Aspar) in Sicily. F. Lpez Snchez dates thecampaign to 431 (cf. F. LPEZ SNCHEZ, El tesoro de 498 solidi de San Mamiliano (Sovana, Toscana) y lasscholae palatinae italianas del siglo V (forthcoming).



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likely left the territory of the Roman Empire only in the 5thcentury.31By the sametoken, the solidi minted during the rst half of the 5thcentury would have likelyarrived along with the later coins, in the second half of that century. The latestdeposits from the region of Warmia have their terminus post quemdened by thecoins of Valentinian III (425455). There have been some recorded instances ofsingle slightly later coins, e.g., solidi of Leo I found at Dbice (Elblg District)32and Elblg (with an even later coin of Anthemius at the latter location).33Anothergold coin of Leo I was part of the nd from Gronowo (Elblg District) along witha solidus of Libius Severus.34The latest solidi found in the Vistula Estuary regionare two coins of Anastasius I from Kpa Rybacka35and cza (both locations in theElblg District).36The inux of solidi into the territories east of the Lower Vistulaappears to have ceased about the mid-5thcentury, earlier than in Western Pomerania,where it would continue to exist until the turn of the 5thand 6thcenturies.37

The emergence of Late-Roman gold coins in the Baltic Sea region should bemost probably linked with the practice of ransom and tribute payments to Gothictribes (cf. R. Cioek). The studies of the economy and political aspects of gold cir-culation in the Roman Empire demonstrate that throughout the period from the 5 thuntil the mid-6thcentury the Goths received considerable amounts of this preciousmetal.38According to R. Cioek, the area of the highest concentration of the solidi(regions of Pomerania along the Vistula) was inhabited in the early Migration Pe-riod by the tribes which, as Jordanes Geticawould lead us to assume, should beidentied with the Vidivarii. Consequently, the inow of solidi into the Baltic Searegion must have been connected with maintaining political relations between theOstrogoths and the tribes settled in the territory along the eastern bank of the lowerVistula (approximately modern Warmia region).39

A different hypothesis dealing with the circumstances of the inux of Roman

gold into the Baltic Sea region was put forward by J. Werner.

40

It draws on the

31K. GODOWSKI, Okres wdrwek ludw na Pomorzu, Pomerania AntiquaX, p. 100; cf. J. BEM-MANN, M. PARCZEWSKI(eds.), Frhe Slawen in Mitteleuropa. Schriften von Kazimierz Godowski, (Studienzur Siedlungsgeschichte und Archologie der Ostseegebiete vol. 6), Neumnster 2005; R. CIOEK, Znaleziskasolidw na Pomorzu, Wiadomoci NumizmatyczneXLVII, 2003, p. 172.

32CIOEK,Katalog, p. 40, no. 46.33CIOEK,Katalog, p. 45, no. 57.34CIOEK,Katalog, pp. 8687, no. 96.35CIOEK,Katalog, p. 100, no. 124.36CIOEK,Katalog, p. 112, no. 160.37CIOEK, Znaleziska solidw, p. 172.38J. ILUK,Ekonomiczne i polityczne aspekty cyrkulacji zota w pnym Cesarstwie Rzymskim, (Zeszyty Na-

ukowe. Rozprawy i Monograe, vol. 110), Gdask 1988, pp. 135, 138; CIOEK, Znaleziska solidw, p. 176.39CIOEK, Znaleziska solidw, pp.176177.40J. WERNER, Zu den auf land und Gotland gefundenen byzantinischen Goldmnzen, Fronvnnen

44, 1949, pp. 257286.

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account by Procopius of Caesarea, according to which the Heruli made their re-turn journey into Scandinavia around the year 512. In Werners opinion, the solidifound in Pomerania are the traces of their peregrination.

On the other hand, K. Godowski notes that the inux of gold coins intoPomerania may be possibly associated with the presence of the Huns in the Dan-ube region. According to this view, the state created by Attila was the primarydistributor of gold at that time, whereas the occurrence of gold coins in the BalticSea region could be explained by the existence of relations between the tribes ofthe North and members of the Hunnic elite.41The political situation in the Danuberegion attracted individuals as well as groups of people into the south, which con-tributed to the greater intensity of the relations between those two environments,the manifestation of which might have been the inow of solidi into Pomeranianterritories in question.42Thus, gold coins designated as soldiers pay, gifts from theemperor, ransom or tribute payments could have been brought directly from theDanube area.43

The inux of solidi into the Warmia region may be therefore related to thepresence of the Ostrogoth tribes, at that time settled in the territories of Pannonia,44and to the migration of the Germanic tribes from the Danube area, possibly result-ing in the establishment of closer relations with the inhabitants of Pomerania andScandinavia. In effect, a new wave of Germanic settlers may have appeared in theregion. However, this hypothesis cannot be veried conclusively in the light ofthe current state of the research. There are simply very few nds dating from thelate phase of the Roman Period and the early Migration Period that could point tothe appearance of new settlers in the area. Nonetheless, the presence of some rela-tively small groups of Germanic origin in co-existence with the Balt settlers whohad arrived earlier, cannot be ruled out for this area.45It may be attested by such

nds as a solidus found at Naaby.

46

Given the current state of the exploration, theconclusions drawn from the archaeological sources do not allow us to speak of per-manent settlement with certainty. Likewise, it is not certain if those small groupsof inhabitants should be actually identied with the Vidivarii (cf. Jordanes), whowere described as an amalgamation of several different peoples.

41GODOWSKI, Okres wdrwek ludw, p. 100.42GODOWSKI, Okres wdrwek ludw.., pp. 100102.43WERNER, Zu den auf land, pp. 264265, 277; CIOEK, Znaleziska solidw, p. 175.44CIOEK, Znaleziska solidw, p. 175; A. CIELISKI,Kulturelle Vernderungen und Besiedlung-

sablufe im Gebiet der Wielbark-Kultur, an yna, Paska und oberer Drwca, Berliner Beitrge zur Vor- undFrhgeschichte, NF, vol. 17, Berlin 2010, p. 167.

45See below.46CIELISKI,Kulturelle Vernderungen, p. 168.



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THE CULTURAL SITUATION IN POMERANIAAND WARMIA IN THE EARLY MIGRATION PERIODThe settlements of the Wielbark Culture in Pomerania, Chemno Land, Elblg

Heights, and Warmia continued until the phase C3D, at the latest, i.e., the earlyphase of the Migration Period. This particular stage marked a signicant reductionin the number of Wielbark culture settlements, as also manifested in the aban-donment of many cemeteries.47According to A. Cieliski, the phase C

3D was

a period of decline for the Wielbark culture,48when this area, previously inhabitedby the Wielbark culture communities, became depopulated, and the picture is notthe result of a change in funeral rites, as often believed, which left no archaeologi-cally discernible traces.49In turn, similar changes cannot be seen in the contem-

porary Vistula estuary area, where new cemeteries were being established. Therewere also new cemeteries being established in the Iawa Lake District, while thecontinuity of the older cemeteries can be observed around Nidzica.50Most likely,even before the beginning of phase E new Balt settlers had come to the area of theElblg Heights (up to the line of the lower Paska), out of which the Elblg groupwas formed during phase E.51Some scholars link this group with the Dollkeim-Kovrovo culture,52 while others perceive it as a Germanic-Baltic-Scandinavianculture of interregional character.53

There is no doubt though that this unit came into being as a consequenceof the coming together and coexistence of interregional elements (Sambian andGermanic) at a time when the east side of the Vistula estuary area was settled bynew groups which probably could be identied with the Vidivarii mentioned byJordanes. This process, however, can be dated to no earlier than the developed

phase of the Migration Period, that is phase E2.54Due to the decline of the Wielbark

47GODOWSKI, Okres wdrwek ludw, pp. 104106; CIELISKI,Kulturelle Vernderungen,pp. 133, 160.

48Ibidem, p. 133.49Ibidem, p. 160.50Ibidem, p. 160, cf. the sites list on pp. 310315.51 Cf. B. KONTNY, M. NATUNIEWICZ-SEKUA, A spur from Mylcin (?) as an odd piece in

a puzzle,Barbaricum8, Warszawa 2009, pp. 156157.52NOWAKOWSKI,Das Samland, pp. 9697.53 A. BITNER-WRBLEWSKA, Observers or participants? The Balts during turbulent epoch in:

B. NIEZABITOWSKA-WINIEWSKA, M. JUCISKI, P. UCZKIEWICZ, S. SADOWSKI(eds.), The tur-bulent epoch new materials from the Late Roman Period and the Migration Period, vol. I, Lublin 2008, pp.

97112; B. KONTNY, Trade, salt and amber. The formation of Late Migration Period elites in the Balti-cultiarea of northern Poland (the Elblg Group),Archaeologica Baltica17, 2012, pp. 6076; B. KONTNY, M. PIE-TRZAK, Merovingian belt on the Vidivarian waist? Unexpected import from the Elblg Group cemetery atNowinka, Tolkmicko com. in: N.A. MAKAROV, A.V. MASTYKOVA, A.N. KHOKHLOV (eds.),Archaeologyof the Baltic, MoscowPetersburg 2013, p. 122.

54BITNER-WRBLEWSKA, Observers or participants, p. 109, B. KONTNY, A Scandinavian trace:a beak bula from the Late Migration Period cemetery at Nowinka in Northern Poland, Archaeologia Baltica

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culture settlements within the area delimited by the Paska, the yna and the upperDrwca, the Western Balt settlers spread as the Elblg group, and soon afterwardsalso as the newly formed Olsztyn group, the origin of which can be dated to the laterstage of the Migration Period, i.e., phase E1.

55The cemetery at Moteczno, DistrictBraniewo (formerly, Hammersdorf, Kr. Braunsberg), as well as a deposit of gold ob-

jects with a medallion of Constantius II discovered there, conrm this cultural change.As mentioned above, the inux of solidi to the area east of the lower Vistula

is now dated to the mid-5thcentury, i.e., late phase Dearly E.56Thus, at the timewhen the Frombork hoard was deposited there was no longer any Wielbark culturesettlement in the area. However, some elements that could indicate the presence ofsome small Germanic clusters did exist there. We know of only one grave complexwhich can be dated to late Dearly phase E (Bornice, grave 6).57Also, very fewWestern Balt cemeteries from the area dated to this particular period are known.Only settlements at Chojnowo, Grabina, Podgrze,58and Moteczno can be linkedwith the Balt culture.59Otherwise, some individual Baltic elements are recordedfrom the territory of the Germanic milieu, such as a crossbow brooch with its foot

protruding well beyond the sheath from the settlement at Skowarcz. This formis typical of the Western Balt environment and dated to the late D and the earlyE phase (cf. K. Godowski).60However, this is evidence of the arrival of the rstGermanic and Balt settlers in the area, rather than of any developed settlement.61

With the rst Balt settlers in the Paska basin arriving from the early E pha-se,62the rst single solidus nds appeared (e.g., Naaby, District Braniewo).63The

presence of these coins is rather peculiar in such an environment, as gold practi-cally cannot be found in the Western Balt territory.64This fact would only conrm

14, 2010, p. 243, KONTNY, Trade, salt and amber, p. 60; cf. J. KOWALSKI, Chronologia grupy elblskiej

i olsztyskiej krgu zachodniobatyjskiego (VVII w.). Zarys problematyki, Barbaricum 6, Warszawa 2000,pp. 211213, 218220.55KOWALSKI, Chronologia, pp. 213214, 221222; cf. BITNER-WRBLEWSKA, Observers or

participants, p. 109.56Cf. GODOWSKI, Okres wdrwek ludw, p. 100; CIOEK, Znaleziska solidw, pp. 163180;

CIELISKI,Kulturelle Vernderungen, p. 167.57 Ibidem, p. 133. A major part of the nds datable to the early phase of the Migration Period can be

credited to amateur archaeologists using metal detectors. As a result, they have no clear archaeological context(this particular information, courtesy of Dr. A. Cieliski).

58K. GODOWSKI, Okres wdrwek ludw, pp. 105106; CIELISKI, Kulturelle Vernderun-gen, p. 162.

59Ibidem, pp. 161162.60GODOWSKI, Okres wdrwek ludw.., p. 86.61Cf. KONTNY, NATUNIEWICZ-SEKUA, A spur, pp. 156157.62To date, the only known site is the cemetery at Podgrze (GODOWSKI, Okres wdrwek ludw,

pp. 105106; CIELISKI,Kulturelle Vernderungen, p. 162).63Cf.Ibidem, p. 168.64Cf. BURSCHE, Roman AE coinage, pp. 114; NOWAKOWSKI, Od Galindai; NOWAKOWSKI,



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that some Germanic groups were also present in the territory where the existenceof the Balt elements is attested.

CHRONOLOGYBased on the archaeological and numismatic objects, the Frombork hoard can

be dated to the late Dearly E transition period. However, due to the presence ofbrooches (including some semi-nished products) typical for the previous phase(C

3D) a much later date is not likely.65Among the brooches there are types wide-

spread during the early Migration Period in the Balt region, namely one of theSchnwarling/Skowarcz type and two of the Dolkeim-Kovrovo type.66Such bu-las are found not only in Balt settlements, and both types have been recorded inGotland, land, and Bornholm, as well as the Frombork hoard.67

The cultural attribution of the deposit has been discussed for many years.There is no consensus on whether it should be linked to Baltic or Germanic settle-ment.68What is important is that it was hidden when the rst Baltic and Germanicnewcomers appeared in this depopulated area, which would indicate the non--homogeneous character of this region.

It can be also conrmed by the numismatic material: denarii as well as bronzeand gold coins in the Frombork deposit. Its multicultural character is evident inview of the circumstances of the inux of solidi to Pomerania (as mentioned above).

SIMILAR DEPOSITSThere is a consensus on who was the owner of the Frombork hoard. It is believed

that the coins, half-nished and nished bronze objects, were owned by a craftsmanexperienced in bronze casting and goldsmithing.69The objects contained in the de-

posit were stored with the intention of recasting or processing them later on.

Das Samland; A. ZAPOLSKA, Roman denarii in the Bogaczewo and Sudovian cultures,Polish NumismaticNewsVIII, 2008, pp. 139165; ZAPOLSKA, Rmische Mnzen, pp. 115131. An aureus of Victorinus fromthe cemetery at Uakov in the Kaliningrad Oblast (K. SKVORTSOV, The formation of a Sambian-NatangianCulture Patrimonial Elite in the Roman Period in the Context of Amber Trade, Archaeologia Baltica18, 2012,p. 175, tab. Vd) and an Avar imitation of solidus from an unattested location in Sambia (unpublished materialobtained courtesy of K. Skvortsov).

65Cf. GODOWSKI, Okres wdrwek ludw.., pp. 108109.66Cf. CIELISKI,Kulturelle Vernderungen, p. 168; A. BITNER WRBLEWSKA,From Samland to

Rogaland: EastWest connections in the Baltic basin during the Early Migration Period, Warszawa 2001, pp. 3441.67Cf.Ibidem, pp. 35, 3739, 4148.68

Cf. GODOWSKI, Fromborski skarb.., pp. 5769; K. GODOWSKI, Zur Frage der vlkerwander-ungszeitlichen Besiedlung in Pommern, Studien zur Sachsenforschung2, 1980, pp. 63106; GODOWSKI,Okres wdrwek ludw, pp. 65129; BITNER WRBLEWSKA,From Samland, p. 38; CIELISKI,Kulturelle Vernderungen, pp. 169170.

69PEISER, KEMKE, Der Depotfund, pp. 5879; GODOWSKI, Fromborski skarb, pp. 5769;GODOWSKI, Zur Frage, pp. 63106; BITNER WRBLEWSKA,From Samland; CIELISKI,Kul-turelle Vernderungen.

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The deposit that bears the closest resemblance to the Frombork nd is thehoard from ubiana (District Kocierzyna),70 the deposition of which is datableto phase D

1

. For the most part it contained brooches71 and fragments of bronzevessels, with a smaller number of belt parts (mostly buckles and pins). The hoardalso contained 27 iron spearheads resting on the top of the vessel, as well as rivets,

bronze scrap, and three pierced Roman coins.72As most of the objects in the de-posit are datable to the turn of the Early and Late Roman Period (from B

2bto C

1a),

M. Mczyska has suggested that they might have been robbed from graves.73The presence of traces of burning on the surface of some of those artefacts maylikewise indicate their provenance as objects taken from cremation graves.74M. Mczyska interprets the nd as a hoard owned by a bronze-smith. Anothernoteworthy deposit is the hoard from Radostowo (District Tczew), found in 1878.It contained 22 or 23 solidi minted within a period ranging from the reign of Theo-dosius II to Basiliscus, a gold ingot, a piece of a silver bow brooch with a semi-circular head, and a small fragment of a silver object. The coins were found insidea leather purse.75The terminus post quemfor this hoard is determined by the latestsolidus of Basiliscus struck at the Eastern mint in the years 475476, which wouldcorrespond with the dating of the plate bula.76

These particular examples show that the practice of depositing jewelleryalongside Roman coins had been fairly widespread in the Baltic area during theMigration Period.77They would serve as a source of valuable raw material for the

70M. MCZYSKA,Der frhvlferwanderungszeitliche Hortfund aus ubiana, Kreis Kocierzyna (Pom-mern), Bericht der Rmisch-Germanischen Komission, Frankfurt/Main 2009.

71Among those objects: an arch of a brooch with a star-shaped foot (Sternfubel) or of a bow brooch witha metope-tipped crossbar foot (Schlusskreuzbel); cf. ibidem, p. 92. Both of these types are associated with theBalt milieu and would set the dating for this hoard in the early phase of the Migration Period.

72Ibidem, p. 243.73 Traces of such practices have been found at several sites, e.g., Czarnwko (M. MCZYSKA,

D. RUDNICKA, Ein Grab rmischen Importen aus Czarnwko, Kr. Lbork (Pommern), Germania82, 2004,pp. 397429), Pruszcz Gdaski (M. PIETRZAK, Pruszcz Gdaski, Fundstelle 10. Ein Grberfeld der Oksy-wie- und Wielbark-Kultur in Ostpommern, Krakw 1997), Odry (J. KMIECISKI (ed.), Odry. Cmentarzyskokurhanowe z okresu rzymskiego w powiecie chojnickim, d 1968), (Acta Archaeologica Lodziensia, vol. 15),Leno (K. WALENTA, Okres rzymski na terenie gminy Brusy in: H. RZSKA, K. WALENTA(eds.),Brusyi okolice w pradziejach na tle porwnawczym, Brusy 2005, pp. 8597), Kowalewko (T. SKORUPKA,Kowalew-sko 12. Cmentarzysko birytualne ludnoci kultury wielbarskiej (od poowy I w. p.n.e. do pocztkw III w. n.e.),Pozna 2001), Krosno (A. BURSCHE, J. OKULICZ, Badania birytualnego cmentarzyska kultury wielbarskiejw Kronie na stanowisku 1 w wojewdztwie elblskim, Badania archeologiczne w woj. elblskim w latach198083, Malbork 1987, pp. 207231).

74MCZYSKA,Der frhvlferwanderungszeitliche Hortfund, pp. 243245.75

GODOWSKI, Okres wdrwek ludw.., p. 93; CIOEK,Katalog, pp. 180181; CIOEK,Die Fund-mnzen, pp. 197199)76V. HILBERG,Masurische Bgelbeln. Studien zu den Fernbeziehungen der vlkerwanderungszeitlichen

Brandgrberfelder von Daumen und Kellaren, (Schriften des Archologischen Landesmuseums, vol. 9), Neu-mnster 2009, p. 163.

77The above-cited examples of relevant hoards do not make up, of course, an exhaustive list of the similardeposits dating from the Migration Period (cf. M.B. HENRIKSEN, Gold deposits in the Late Roman and Migration



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purpose of casting and manufacturing jewellery or other adornments, in accor-dance with popular fashion trends of the period. There are also attested instancesof deposits with multi-cultural contents.

ROMAN COINS AS A SOURCE OF RAW MATERIALThe custom of melting down Roman coins, particularly bronze ones, was fairly

widespread in the North-European Barbaricum. Already as early as in the RomanPeriod this practice was widely implemented, primarily within the Western Balttribes who used the highest bronze denomination, sestertii, to produce local jewel-lery.78Discoveries of such semi-melted coins, which are a direct indication of this

phenomenon, are known from Funen and Jutland. One such sestertius was foundin the settlement at Lundeborg in a layer dated to the Late Roman Period,79anotherone in the production settlement at Hrup, in a bronze-smiths workshop.80An-other sestertius, found with 194 denarii and 4 Barbarian imitations comes fromthe bog deposit at Illerup.81The coins from that hoard were found inside a numberof separate moneybags that had been owned by Germanic warriors. The pouchwith the sestertius in question also contained some fragments of bronze objects,the bronze foot of a sword sheath, and a bronze strap end. Nearby, in the same

bog, more objects had been found: 30 pieces of glass beads (part of a necklace),and probably two fragments of glass slag and some dice made of antler.82Similarobjects were found in the other moneybags along with denarii: mostly glass beads,

belt parts,Eimeranhngerpendants of iron or bronze, as well as bronze and silverscrap.83According to A. Bursche, the Roman coins and the bronze or silver scrapfrom Illerup were stored as material to be used for repairing or adorning elementsof military equipment.84

Period landscape a case study from the island of Funen (Fyn), Denmark in: U. LUND HANSEN, A. BITNER--WRBLEWSKA (eds.), Worlds apart? Contact across the Baltic Sea in the Iron Age, CopenhagenWarsaw 2010,pp. 389432; M. AXBOE, Late Roman Period and Migration Period sites in southern Scandinavia with archaeo-logical evidence of the activity of gold and silver smiths in: (Cf. ABBREVIATIONS), pp. 123142; K. LAMM,Helg as goldsmiths workshop in Migration Period Sweden in: GOLDSMITH MYSTERIES, pp. 143155.

78Cf. A. BEZZENBERGER,Analysen vorgeschichtlicher Bronzen Ostpreussens, Knigsberg 1904. Bez-zenbergers hypothesis nds conrmation in the modern analysis of the sestertii found in the Western Balt en-vironment. I have described them in my hitherto unpublished dissertation (A. ZAPOLSKA, Znaleziska monetrzymskich z krgu zachodniobatyjskiego, typescript of doctoral dissertation).

79H.W. HORSNS, Roman bronze coins from Barbaricum Denmark as a case study in: H.W. HOR-SNS, J. CHR. MOESGAARD (eds.), Single Finds, the Nordic Perspective. Proceedings of the Seminar in Co-

penhagen 2324 November 2001, Nordisk Numismatisk rsskrift 20002002, Copenhagen 2006; p. 84, cat. no. 56.80Ibidem, p. 76, cat. no. 17.81BURSCHE,Illerup dal, p. 11.82Ibidem, pp. 4243.83Ibidem, p. 59.84Ibidem, pp. 84, 87, cf. pp. 1718, gs. 1013.

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Considering all these things, the deposit of Frombork is not unusual. All theseexamples show that the practice of depositing bronze and precious metal objectstogether with Roman coins was very common in the Baltic Sea region. In my opin-ion, it is very likely that this hoard was the property of a wandering craftsman whowas trained as a gold- and bronze-smith.

A TRAVELLING CRAFTSMAN AS THE OWNEROF THE FROMBORK HOARDThe remains of the workshops of gold- or bronze-smiths are rarely discovered

on archaeological sites, in contrast to traces of their activities. Among the items com-monly found at settlement sites, we can mention fragments of Roman bronze vessels,unnished brooches or, rarely, belt elements, cut silver, bronze or gold ingots, as wellas cut-up Roman coins, prepared for melting down.85Most scholars tend to agree thatartisans trained in goldsmithing could also work on other metals and their alloys.There are many clues, notably in the Scandinavian sagas,86pointing to the fact thata single craftsman could often work with more than one type of metal, especially as itwas necessary, among other things, to make their own tools and utensils (in practicalterms, they would be part of the craftsmans personal belongings).87

Workshops, if they are discovered at all, come from large settlements of cen-tral place character, and are known from Scandinavia, e.g., Sorte Muld, Gudme orHelg.88At the remaining sites such as Uppkra where gold objects were manu-factured, usually only scrap metal and stamps to produce Pressblech ornamentscould be found, while other traces of goldsmiths activities are elusive.89 Frag-ments of unnished gold and silver objects, indicative of the presence of gold-smiths, have been found within a much smaller production settlement Hrup inSjaelland (Denmark).90

The present article aims to highlight the fact that the activity of craftsmen dur-ing the Migration Period would frequently leave no discernible traces in settlementson the basis of which their workshops could be identied.91For this reason, anotherquite extensively discussed question is the phenomenon of so-called travelling

85AXBOE, Late Roman Period, p. 125.86 E. MAROLD, Mythische Schmiede in deutscher und skandinavischer Sagentradition in: GOLD-

SMITH MYSTERIES, pp. 225242; L. CARSTENS, Might and Magic: the smith in Old Norse literaturein: GOLDSMITH MYSTERIES, pp. 243270; M. HARDT, Edelmetallschmiede in erzhlenden Quellen der

Vlkerwanderungszeit und des frhen Mittelalers in: GOLDSMITH MYSTERIES, pp. 271278.87AXBOE, Late Roman Period, p. 125.88AXBOE, Late Roman Period, pp. 126127; LAMM, Helg, pp. 143155.89AXBOE, Late Roman Period, p. 129.90AXBOE, Late Roman Period, p. 130.91Cf. GOLDSMITH MYSTERIES 2012.



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smiths or craftsmen.92According to J. Callmer, the profession of goldsmith work-ing in gold, silver, or bronze alloys demanded constant training, not only in orderto learn the complicated process of working in metal, but also in order to maintainthese skills and to transfer them to younger generations. These abilities had to be

practised and perfected constantly,93which was impossible within one small societyduring the Migration Period. On that basis, M. Axboe concludes that a majority ofgoldsmiths must have been active as more or less travelling craftsmen.94K. Lammhas reached similar conclusions on the basis of her analysis of the archaeologicalmaterial from production settlements in Sweden dated to the Migration Period.95Following a comparative analysis of the large number of traces left by the activitiesof these goldsmiths (a number of crucibles, casting forms, and scrap-metal), sheconcludes that some of the settlements may have been utilized only temporarily,visited periodically by the wandering craftsmen (e.g., Bckby, on the northern shoreof the Lake Mlaren, not far from Hegl96). It is therefore evident that the phenom-enon of travelling craftsmen/goldsmiths is by no means something out of the ordi-nary. In consequence, it is possible that the deposit found at Frombork is evidenceof the activity of exactly such a craftsman who may have offered his services to theGermanic and Balt communities alike. This would also account for the presence ofthe artefacts of both Germanic and Balt origin within one hoard.

CONCLUSIONSThe hoard found at Frombork can be considered as the property of a travel-

ling goldsmith. It contained half-nished metal objects forming parts of attire, aswell as some raw material, including Roman coins. In all probability, they had

been hidden away in haste, to be recovered at a later time. It is important to notethat it would be pointless to attempt to interpret the Frombork deposit in terms of

its cultural (and even more so, ethnic) attribution. Assuming the correctness of theview that it may have been owned by a travelling craftsman, it is not possible to

92Cf. J. WERNER, Zur Verbreitung frhgeschichtlicher Metallarbeiten (Werkstatt Wanderhandwerk Handel Familienverbindung),Antikvarist Arkiv38, 1970, pp. 6581; J. WOLTERS, Goldschmied, Gold-schmiedekunst in: H. JANKUHN, H. BECK (eds.),Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde 12, Berlin New York 1998, pp. 362386; J. CALLMER, Wayland. An Essay on Craft Production in the Early and High Mid-dle Ages in Scandinavia in: L. LARSSON, B. HRDT (eds.), Centrality Regionality. The Social Structure ofSouthern Sweden during the Iron Age, Uppkrastudier7, Lund 2003 (Acta Archaeologica Lundensia, Ser. 8, 40),pp. 337361.

93

CALLMER, Wayland, p. 342; AXBOE, Late Roman Period, pp. 135136.94AXBOE, Late Roman Period, p. 136.95LAMM, Helg, pp. 143155.96Cf. LAMM, Helg, pp. 143155; E. HJRTHENER-HOLDAR, The metal workshop in Sekke in

Uppland, Sweden in: Goldsmith mysteries, p. 160; E. Hjrthener-Holdar, K. Lamm, B. Magnus, Metalworkingand Central Places in: B. HRDT, L. LARSSON (eds.), Central Places in the Migration and Merovingian Peri-ods, Uppkrastudier6, Stockholm 2002 (Acta Archaeologica Lundensia ser. 8, 39), pp. 159183.

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determine in which environment the hoard had been formed. Such a wanderingsmith may have been active in the territories settled by Germanic as well as Balticcommunities, and also in a multi-cultural milieu. This would perfectly explain thecommon presence of the objects characteristic of these two environments in onend. The terminus post quemfor the formation of this deposit is determined bya solidus of Theodosius II, minted in 431, while the bulas from the same hoardare datable to the turn of the early and late phases of the Migration Period (DE,i.e., the beginning and the rst half of the 5 thcentury).

During that time, at the turn of the early and late phases of the MigrationPeriod, the arrival of undened Germanic tribes from the Danube region, as wellas Baltic tribes from the East may have possibly taken place in Warmia and thearea along the coast around the Vistula Estuary (Vistula Bay). Similar migrationsfrom Scandinavia also occurred, as a result of the establishment of contacts withthe newly arrived groups from the south. This phenomenon would lead to the for-mation of a multi-cultural amalgamation composed, as ancient classical authors

perceived it, ex diversis nationibus.

ABBREVIATIONS

FMRD

Die Fundmnzen der rmischen Zeit in Deutschland, Berlin.GOLDSMITH MYSTERIESA. Pesch, R. Blankenfeldt (eds.), Goldsmith Mysteries. Archaeological, Pictorial and Documentary Evidence

from the 1stMillenium AD in Northern Europe(Schriften des Archologischen Landesmuseum, Ergnzungsreihevol. 8), Neumnster 2012

NIEBORWA. Bursche, R. Cioek, R. Wolters (eds.), Roman Coins outside the Empire, Ways and Phases, Contexts

and Functions, Proceedings of the ESF/SCH Exploratory Workshop, Radziwi Palace, Nieborw (Poland) 36September 2005, WetterenWarsaw 2008.

PRUSSIASitzungsberichte der Altertumsgesellschaft Prussia, Knigsberg i. Pr.ReglingNachlaThe archive of Kurt Regling is housed at the Numismatic Cabinet in Berlin (Mnzkabinett, Staatliche Mu-

seen zu Berlin), Monbijourstr. 3, D-10117 Berlin.

SFMAStudien zu Fundmnzen der Antike, Frankfurt a. Main/Berlin.



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Fig. 1. Chronological structure of the coins from the Frombork hoard


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CATALOGUE97

SILVERCOINS

Issued by Date(s) of issue Identication Mint

1. D1 Titus 0107.80 RIC2116 Rome

2. D2 Trajan 103111 RIC 107 Rome

3. D3 Trajan ? ? ?

4. D4 Hadrian 119122 RIC 137a Rome

5. D5 Hadrian (Aelius Caesar) 137 RIC 428 or 429 Rome

6. D6 Antoninus Pius 151152 (?) RIC 204 (?) Rome

7. D7 Antoninus Pius 153154 RIC 231 Rome

8. D8 Antoninus Pius 155156 RIC 244 (a) Rome



11. D11 Antoninus Pius 158159 (?) RIC 288 (?) Rome

12. D12 Antoninus Pius (Faustina I) after 141 RIC 366 Rome

13. D13 Marcus Aurelius 12.16112.162 RIC 58 Rome

14. D14 Marcus Aurelius 166 (?) RIC 163 (?) Rome

15. D15 Marcus Aurelius 12.17012.171 RIC 248 Rome

16. D16 Marcus Aurelius 12.176autumn 177 RIC 359 Rome

17. D17 Marcus Aurelius ? ? ?



20. D20 Marcus Aurelius (Antoninus Pius) after 161 RIC 436 Rome

21. D21 Commodus (Marcus Aurelius) 180 RIC 272 or 274 Rome

22. D22 Commodus (Marcus Aurelius) 180 RIC 272 or 274 Rome

23. D23 Commodus 181 RIC 11b Rome

24. D24 Commodus 181182 RIC 28 Rome

25. D25 Commodus 192 RIC 235 Rome

2628. D. undetermined

BRONZECOINS98

29. S26 Antoninus Pius (138161)

30. AE27 undetermined

31. AE28 undetermined

GOLDCOIN

32. Sol.29 Theodosius II 431 RIC 257 Constantinople

97The catalogue arrangement follows the FMRPL inventories published to date (e.g., CIOEK,Die Fund-mnzen).

98 The rst publication by Peiser and Kemke (1919) featured descriptions of three bronze coins (ibidem,p. 58, cf. below). According to the Bolin catalogue, () 3 AE, von welchen 2 nur Fragmente sind und dritte,

die auch bel zugerichtet und mitten durchgebrochen ist, 1 AE I Antoninus Pius (BOLIN, Die Funde,p. 207, no. 8). In her catalogue, Cioek cites two unidentied Roman bronze coins, one as of Antoninus Pius,which is a sestertius, and one sestertius of Antoninus Pius for Faustina I. The latter coin has been falsely identiedas a sestertius, but this is in fact a denarius (CIOEK,Die Fundmnzen, p. 49). Cioek based this particularsestertius identication on the information from the Cohen catalogue and the RIC, which is unfortunately wrong,as this is actually a denarius. Furthermore, none of the sources mentions an as; information is only available fortwo unspecied bronze coins.


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FOOTNOTES TO THE TABLE

1F.E. PEISER, H. KEMKE, Der Depotfund, p. 60: 1. Titus = Cohen I, S. 454, Nr. 303. 2Ibidem, p. 60: 2. Trajan = Cohen II, S. 85, Nr. 644. 3Ibidem, p. 60: 3. Trajan (rs. sehr abgerieben). 4Ibidem, p. 60: 4. Hadrian = Cohen II, S. 202, Nr. 1152 (aber unter der Figur der rs. noch COL AVG).

This coin was incorrectly described by Peiser. There is no denarius type with the legend COL AVG; most prob-ably, the proper legend would read SAL AVG. The inaccurate information can be found in the catalogue byR. Cioek (CIOEK,Die Fundmnzen, p. 47, no. 69), who determines this coin, ignoring Peisers annotationon the exergue legend.

5PEISER, KEMKE, Der Depotfund, p. 61: 25. Commodus (?) vs. LAELIVSCAESART(). Peiserdetermined this one as a coin of Commodus, but there exists no denarius type of that emperor with this speciclegend. The same legend can be found on the obverses of Hadrians coins minted in Aelius name. R. Cioek notesthat Peiser made a mistake in his description of the coin and determines it as a non-existent denarius type of Com-modus (CIOEK,Die Fundmnzen, p. 49).

6PEISER, KEMKE, Der Depotfund, p. 60: 7. hnlich wie 5, aber vs. PPTRPXV, rs. zeigt die Ge-sundheit, die linke Hand auf einem Krug (?) sttzend, der auf einem Schiffsteil (?) steht. The type with a Salus

image was minted in the years 158160. For the years 151152, to which the tribunica potestas XV is dated, thepossible type would be the one with a depiction of Annona, resting her hand on a modius (which Peiser may haveinterpreted as a jug), standing on a ships prow. R. Cioek identies this coin just as she did the previous two (nos.9 and 10 in this catalogue), to which, as per Peisers publication, it was only to be similar. However, it would differin the reverse legend, which she fails to notice.

7Ibidem, p. 60: 10. hnlich wie 9, aber vs. PPTRP XVII. Despite the fact that Peiser described that coinas similar to coin no. 8 in the catalogue, but with a different legend, R. Cioek determines both of them (nos. 7and 8) to be identical.

8Ibidem, p. 60: 9. Antoninus Pius = Cohen II, S. 299, Nr. 293. 9Ibidem, p. 60: 5. Antoninus Pius = Cohen II, S. 343, Nr. 740.10Ibidem, p. 60: 6. Dieselbe Mnze, vs. mehr abgerieben.11Ibidem, p. 60: 8. hnlich wie 5, aber rs. zeigt Gesundheit mit dem Fllhorn in der Linken. The type

as cited by Peiser does not exist. It probably represents an image of Salus with a sceptre, which may have beenmisinterpreted as a cornucopia.12Ibidem, p. 60: 12. Faustina I = Cohen II, S. 419, Nr. 73. In the catalogue of R. Cioek, this coin has been

incorrectly identied as a sestertius (CIOEK,Die Fundmnzen, p. 48).13PEISER, KEMKE, Der Depotfund, p. 60: 14. Marc Aurel hnlich Cohen III, S. 7, Nr. 39.14Ibidem, p. 60: 17. Marc Aurel ungefhr wie Cohen III, S. 77, Nr. 808. The bronze coin described at this

item. If Peiser referred to this type, it might be the coin with a representation of Victory standing, with a shield,and the legend VIC PAR. R. Cioek determines this denarius by stating the type as per the RIC, which in factrefers to the dupondius.

15Ibidem, p. 60: 16. Marc Aurel = Cohen III, S. 103, Nr. 1031.16Ibidem, p. 60: 13. Marc Aurel = Cohen III, S. 93, Nr. 938.17Ibidem, p. 60: 15. wie 14, aber berprgt (?), daher vs. jetzt ANTONINVS (scharf) dahinter schwach

ONINVS. This is probably Peisers misinterpretation of the legend. Despite Peisers annotation referring toa probably existing, pierced hole in the coin, R. Cioek determines it as identical to no. 13 (cf. the catalogue).

18Ibidem, p. 60: 18. Marc Aurel (?).19Ibidem, p. 60: 19. Marc Aurel (?), anscheinend auch berprgt (?).20Ibidem, p. 60: 11. Antoninus Pius, nach dessen Tode geschlagen = Cohen II, S. 288, Nr. 164.21Ibidem, p. 60: 20. Marc Aurel = Cohen III, S. 11, Nr. 84, aber Adler nach links gewandt und nach rechts

sehend. There is only a globe depicted on the reverses of the denarii that represent the eagle facing right. Thereexists no type with such a depiction of the eagle standing on the top of the altar. It is possible that Peiser mayhave misinterpreted the image on the reverse. If we were to assume that the type in question was indeed the onewith the eagle facing left, this coin could be then identied as RIC 274. But assuming that Peiser would have onlyconfused the facing directions and this is de factoa representation of the eagle shown looking to the left, the coinmay be determined as RIC 272.

22Ibidem, p. 61: 21. Marc Aurel, wie Nr. 20.23Ibidem, p. 61: 23. Commodus hnlich Cohen III, S. 334, Nr. 801.24Ibidem, p. 61: 24. Commodus = Cohen III, S. 337, Nr. 835.25Ibidem, p. 61: 22. Commodus = Cohen III, S. 306, Nr. 571.26Ibidem,p. 61: Taf. I Fig. 32, Antoninus Pius alt in zwei Teile gebrochen, mit scharfem Schlagspuren,

wie von einem Stahlhammer [a coin of Antoninus Pius, broken into two pieces in ancient times, with traces ofhammering].


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27Ibidem, p. 61: Taf. I Fig. 33, kleine nicht zu bestimmbare Bronzemnze. Wegen der Dicke des Stckes,die gleichmig bis zum Rand geht, wird nicht an ein kleines Bronzeplttchen zu denken sein, wie solche z. B.in Daumen gefunden sind. Es scheint, da sie im Schmelzen begriffen war, aber Schmelzproze pltzlich unter-brochen wurde [() small, undeterminable bronze coin. Judging by the thickness, which is the same all over

its surface, this is not a bronze plaque similar to those found at Tumiany. It seems to have undergone a meltingprocess which was apparently interrupted].28Ibidem, p. 61: Taf. I Fig. 34, verschmolzene Bronzemnze mit Eisenrost, wie solche auf Grberfeldern

mit Brandbestattung gefunden werden [melted bronze coin with traces of oxidation, similar to those found atcrematory burial sites].

29Ibidem, p. 61: Goldmnze des Theodosius II im Gewicht von 7 gr. Vs. DNTHEODOSIUS PFAVG,Rs. VOTXXX MVLTXXX CONOB.Peiser included a partial description of the coin and stated the type as basedon Sabatiers catalogue (SABATIER,Description gnrale, p. 116, no. 14, tab. VI:5): Rv. VOT XXX MVLTXXXX ou avec lettre B ou ou ou ou ou . Rome casque et assise g., tennat un scepter et le globe cruci-gre; derrire, un bouclier, quelquefois avec une toile dans le champ; la exergue, CONOB ou TESOB; unfor-tunately, Peiser (PEISER, KEMKE, Der Depotfund, p. 60) and R. Cioek (CIOEK, Die Fundmnzen,p. 49) give the following false rendering of the legend: VOT XXX MVLT XXXB. There is no such a coin type atall. According to Peiser, the weight of the coin was 7 gr (notably, gr stands for a unit known as gran; 1 gr =0.65 g, F. FREIHER VON SCHRTTER (ed.), Wrterbuch der Mnzkunde, Berlin 1930, p. 234). Therefore, theweight of the solidus would be ca. 4.55 g. R Cioek wrongly gives 7 grams, while the solidi was never that heavy.I would like to thank Prof. F. Lpez Snchez for his assistance in determining this particular coin with more ac-curacy (cf. LPEZ SNCHEZ, El tesoro, forthcoming).


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STRESZCZENIE

Monety ze Skarbu Zotnika z Fromborka rozpatrzone na nowo

W okresie wdrwek ludw, w czasie trudnych do uchwycenia i opisaniaprzemieszcze plemion germaskich i batyjskich w pnocnym Barbaricum, po-jawiy si skarby rzymskich monet zdeponowanych razem z innymi brzowymiprzedmiotami pproduktami bd uszkodzonymi czciami biuterii czy przed-miotw codziennego uytku. W wielu wypadkach ramy chronologiczne zoo-

nych w nich przedmiotw s bardzo szerokie od wczesnego okresu wpywwrzymskich po poow V w. Depozyty te cechuje ponadto interregionalno formzabytkw. Powoduje to liczne trudnoci w ich interpretacji, zwaszcza w sytuacji

braku rde archeologicznych pozwalajcych na jednoznaczn kulturow atrybu-cj tego terenu. W artykule zaprezentowana zostaa nowa interpretacja depozytuz Fromborka (ex.Frauenburg), znalezionego na poudniowym wybrzeu Batyku.Omwiony zosta charakter zachodzcych w rejonie Batyku przeksztace kul-turowych, jak rwnie znaczenie pnorzymskich monet w pnej staroytnoci

i w okresie wdrwek ludw w pnocnym Barbaricum oraz kwestia interregio-nalnych kontaktw zachodzcych midzy spoecznociami germaskimi i batyj-skimi.

ANNA ZAPOLSKA

The coins of the Goldsmith hoard of Frombork reconcidered / Anna Zapolska

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