A Hoard of Byzantine solidi from Bet She'an in the Umayyad Period - article ; n°158 ; vol.6, pg 161-227

Gabriela Bijovsky

Description

Revue numismatique - Année 2002 - Volume 6 - Numéro 158 - Pages 161-227
509 545 510 702
Summary. — This hoard was found in an Umayyad building in Bet She'an, Israel. It includes 75 1 solidi dated to Phocas, Heraclius, Constans II and Constantine IV The hoard was most probably buried for fear of confiscation, after the early 80's of the seventh century, during the unstable decade preceding Abd el-Malik's monetary reform in 696/697 CE.
67 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

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• Publié par: REVUE_NUMISMATIQUE
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2002
• Nombre de lectures: 10
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 10 Mo

Extrait

Gabriela Bijovsky
A Hoard of Byzantine solidi from Bet She'an in the Umayyad
Period
In: Revue numismatique, 6e série - Tome 158, année 2002 pp. 161-227.
Résumé
509 545 510 702
Abstract
Summary. — This hoard was found in an Umayyad building in Bet She'an, Israel. It includes 75 1 solidi dated to Phocas,
Heraclius, Constans II and Constantine IV The hoard was most probably buried for fear of confiscation, after the early 80's of the
seventh century, during the unstable decade preceding Abd el-Malik's monetary reform in 696/697 CE.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Bijovsky Gabriela. A Hoard of Byzantine solidi from Bet She'an in the Umayyad Period. In: Revue numismatique, 6e série -
Tome 158, année 2002 pp. 161-227.
doi : 10.3406/numi.2002.1443
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/numi_0484-8942_2002_num_6_158_1443Gabriela Buovsky 162
Photo lb
The bulk of the coins - 382 solidi - were struck by emperor Heraclius (610-
641 CE); 95 solidi are dated to the reign of Phocas (603-610 CE); 219 are dated
to Constans II (641-668 CE) and 55 solidi belong to Constantine IV (668-685
CE). The breakdown of the coins by emperor is as follows:
В Phocas
■ Heraclius
H Constans II
DD Constantine IV
30 26 .
ill
RN2002,p. S 2 161-227 2 Figure Я 1: Breakdown of m ЧОthe m 'Оcoins Coin \О groups Й in ЧО <* (by the classes) 3 - hoard 3 00 I 4 by 1 Os emperors I О 1-1 I and ^- 2 3 С\ classes I « A Hoard of Byzantine Solidi from Bet She'an 1 63
As shown in Figure 1, the most characteristic feature of the Bet She'an
hoard is its uninterrupted chronological sequence, that shows no gaps. In this
respect, the only contemporary comparable find is the hoard from Nikertai,
published by Morrisson in 1972 (Figure 11). The latest issues in the Bet She'an
hoard belong to the first two chronological groups of Constantine IV: class II
(668-673 CE) and class III (674-681). The hoard was thus deposited after the
early 80 's of the 7th century, roughly a decade before 'Abd al-Malik's monetary
reform in 696/697 CE.
The types2
The earliest group is the 95 solidi of Phocas. Most of the coins show signs
of prolonged wear. Coins Nos. 69 and 85, which are linked by their reverse dies,
present an interesting feature: the original officina "Z" - still visible - has been
replaced by the officina "I". A similar alteration was already noted by Grierson
(DOC 2/1, p. 34 n. 50). More examples of this practice will be given below.
As in most seventh-century hoards (see Figure 11), the bulk of the coins
belongs to Heraclius. Morrisson attests that solidi of Heraclius remained in cir
culation much more time in Syria than within the empire, where the reminting
mechanism was undertaken regularly (Morrisson 1972, p. 39). Particularly
numerous are in all hoards the issues from class II dated to 616-625 CE. At Bet
She'an they represent the largest group with 117 specimens (Nos. 110-226).
Following in numbers is the class depicting the "three imperial figures", espe
cially from the period when Heraclonas appears crowned (636-641 CE). No
new sub-types of Heraclius were noticed in the hoard. However, some of his
solidi deserve special attention due to hitherto undocumented officina letters.
Moreover, the officina marks on some solidi suggest different minting pract
ices. Coin No. 226 of Heraclius' class IIB is very peculiar. It depicts in the
reverse right field a yet undeciphered letter that resembles, in our opinion a "K"
bending to the right. This letter appears particularly at the same place in the fo
llowing series of solidi, which depict Heraclius Constantine as an adolescent
(dated to 626-629 CE).3 The letter К in the right field is hitherto unknown in
the series representing Heraclius' son as an infant. A solidus presenting the
same detail was published in the Rougga hoard, there the sign on the right field
was identified as a lozengue rhombus (Guéry, Morrisson, Slim 1982, p. 3, No.
166, Pis. VIII and XII). Both coins are die-linked. Hahn records a third spec
imen from dr. Metlich's private collection ; both scholars believe the letters in
the field is a "A" or a "A" with a dot below (iota suscriptum), probably sug
gesting a fourteenth officina. It seems that the reading of this officina letter
remains uncertain for the time being.4 If our interpretation is accepted, it might
2 We follow DOC's nomenclature for classes classification, both in the discussion and the
catalogue.
3 See for example DOC No.23 e, which also presents a "bent" К in the right field.
4 My thanks to С Morrisson, W. Hahn and M. Metlich for their contribution on this issue.
RN2002,p. 161-227 Gabriela BiJOVsKY 164
point out to the possibility that some of these marks were punched after the
engraving of the die, and sometimes this action was not performed accurately.5
The same applies apparently to coin No. 259, where the officina letter is not
clear ("A"?). A number of other anomalies concerning marks is worth
to be mentioned. The practice of altered dies showing superimposed officina
letters, as noticed above, appears in at least two coins of Heraclius: No. 177,
where the original "A" was replaced by a "Z", and No. 269, where the officina
"A" was changed into a "F\ Occasionally, different sizes between the
mark and the rest of the reverse inscription, denote that the officina letters were
not part of the original die, but added later (No. 448: the retrograde "Z" is much
bigger; No. 477: the officina "I" is much smaller than the rest).
An intentional dot, appears under the officina letter "Z" (retrograde) in coin
No. 327 of class IV A(a), dated to 632-635 CE. This detail is quite peculiar, and
possibly not deliberate but an imperfection of the die. In addition, the hoard
seems to present for the first time, some other officina combinations that are
not attested from other hoards (Nos. 339, 352-355, 357, 379, 413 and 473).
The officina combinations in coins Nos. 409 and 476 of Heraclius, even though
unpublished, appear also in two specimens from the South Jordan hoard.6 Finall
y, coin No. 295 seems to be a contemporary imitation, due to its anomalous
features and irregular character. The obverse inscription is almost completely
blundered, and the exergue inscription presents a retrograde "N" and a quite
irregular "O". According to Grierson, the seventh century mint standards were
so low that some coins, which are really imitations, may have inadvertently
been treated as regular issues of the imperial mint and circulated as such (DOC
2/1, p. 64).
Coins of Constans II are second in quantities in the Bet She 'an hoard (210
specimens). Interestingly, their number increases towards the second half of his
reign (see Figure 1). The same pattern arises from other contemporary hoards
whose deposition date is also related to 'Abd al-Malik's reform, such as Niker-
tai and South Jordan (see Figure 2).7 The officina letter "B" in coin No. 492 of
class I(c), dated to 641-646 CE, seems to be published here for the first time.
The same applies to coin No. 510, of class II(e), dated to 649/650 CE, that
shows the officina letter "G", not attested from the numismatic literature. Some
specimens of Constans II show again differences in size and placement
between the officina marks and the rest of the reverse inscriptions. This is the
5 I am indebted to C. Morrisson for this suggestion.
6 My thanks to С and to E.A. Arslan who are in charge of the publication of this
hoard and kindly provided me with the information. The hoard was presented in a lecture "A
Hoard of Byzantine Solidi from Jordan in the Umayyad Period", at the VI Forum of Arab-byzan-
tine Studies, at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC, on 18.11.2000. Our coin No. 409 is of the
same type than No. 107 in their catalogue, and No. 476 fits their No. 123.
7 Hoards such as Hurvat Kab (Syon forthcoming) which present issues dated to the first half
of Constans II's reign only, should be related to the Muslim conquest.
RN2002,p. 161-227 A Hoard of Byzantine Solidi from Bet She'an 165
case with coins Nos. 498, 504, 529, 587 and 590, where the officina letter is
set apart from the inscriptions; and coin No. 503 the "A" is
much bigger than the other letters.
The fifty-five coins of Constantine IV are the highest amount of this ruler
ever published from hoards in the area (cpr. 27 in the hoards of Nikertai and
South Jordan, 7 coins in the Damascus hoard, 3 coins in Rehov, 2 coins in
Daphne and one coin in the Awarta and Palmyra hoards respectively).
Interestingly, the common feature to all these assemblages is that all the
coins are attributed to the first two classes of Constantine IV's coinage only, the
later ending by 681 CE. None of the hoards includes issues from the last class
of this ruler (681-685 CE) (see below).
In general, the state of preservation of the coins in the hoard improves pro
gressively with their dating. Coins of Phocas and Heraclius denote a prolonged
wear due to their e