Coins, Cult and Cultural Identity

Coins, Cult and Cultural Identity
Author: Eberhard W. Sauer
Publisher: School of Archaeology
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2005
Genre: History
ISBN:

In 1875 an extraordinary hoard of over 4,500 Augustan coins was discovered in a hot spring in Bourbonne-les-Bains, France. Mystified at why this discovery has been ignored for 130 years, even though it is the largest known single deposit of Augustan coins, Eberhard Sauer sets out here to re-discover' the clearly votive deposit, placing it in its archaeological, cultural and religious context. Sauer examines the archaeogical remains at the site, a sophisticate Roman spa, and assesses who would have had access to so many coins c.AD 9. The interesting thesis argues that in this area where army recruitment was a thriving business, only the military could have deposited such a hoard. Sauer then assessses the popular Roman habit of offering coins in sacred springs. Finally, the study pieces together the numismatic and archaeological evidence to discuss the history of he military spa of Bourbonne-les-Bains. Includes a substantial catalogue.

Coins as Cultural Texts in the World of the New Testament

Coins as Cultural Texts in the World of the New Testament
Author: David H. Wenkel
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2016-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0567670740

Coins have long been a vital part of the discipline of classical studies of the ancient world. However, many scholars have commented that coins have not been adequately integrated into the study of the New Testament. This book provides an interdisciplinary gateway to the study of numismatics for those who are engaged in biblical studies. Wenkel argues that coins from the 1st century were cultural texts with communicative power. He establishes a simple yet comprehensive hermeneutic that defines coins as cultural texts and explains how they might be interpreted today. Once coins are understood to be cultural texts, Wenkel proceeds to explain how these texts can be approached from three angles. First, the world in front of the coin is defined as the audience who initially read and responded to coins as cultural texts. The entire Roman Empire used coins for payment. Second, the world of the coin refers to the coin itself – the combination of inscriptions and images. This combination of inscription and image was used ubiquitously as a tool of propaganda. Third, the world behind the coin refers to the world of power and production behind the coins. This third angle explores the concept of authorship of coins as cultural texts.

Coinage and Identity in the Roman Provinces

Coinage and Identity in the Roman Provinces
Author: Christopher Howgego
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2005-05-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 0191555940

Coins were the most deliberate of all symbols of public communal identities, yet the Roman historian will look in vain for any good introduction to, or systematic treatment of, the subject. Sixteen leading international scholars have sought to address this need by producing this authoritative collection of essays, which ranges over the whole Roman world from Britain to Egypt, from 200 BC to AD 300. The subject is approached through surveys of the broad geographical and chronological structure of the evidence, through chapters which focus on ways of expressing identity, and through regional studies which place the numismatic evidence in local context.

A Companion to the Archaeology of Religion in the Ancient World

A Companion to the Archaeology of Religion in the Ancient World
Author: Rubina Raja
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 518
Release: 2020-01-09
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1119042844

A Companion to the Archaeology of Religion in the Ancient World presents a comprehensive overview of a wide range of topics relating to the practices, expressions, and interactions of religion in antiquity, primarily in the Greco-Roman world. • Features readings that focus on religious experience and expression in the ancient world rather than solely on religious belief • Places a strong emphasis on domestic and individual religious practice • Represents the first time that the concept of “lived religion” is applied to the ancient history of religion and archaeology of religion • Includes cutting-edge data taken from top contemporary researchers and theorists in the field • Examines a large variety of themes and religious traditions across a wide geographical area and chronological span • Written to appeal equally to archaeologists and historians of religion

Divina Moneta

Divina Moneta
Author: Nanouschka Myrberg Burström
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2017-11-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317149041

This edited collection analyses the phenomenon of coin use for religious and ritual purposes in different cultures and across different periods of time. It proposes an engagement with the theory and interpretation of the ‘material turn’ with numismatic evidence, and an evidence-based series of discussions to offer a fuller, richer and fresh account of coin use in ritual contexts. No extensive publication has previously foregrounded coins in such a model, despite the fact that coins constitute an integrated part of the material culture of most societies today and of many in the past. Here, interdisciplinary discussions are organised around three themes: coin deposit and ritual practice, the coin as economic object and divine mediator, and the value and meaning of coin offering. Although focusing on the medieval period in Western Europe, the book includes instructive cases from the Roman period until today. The collection brings together well-established and emerging scholars from archaeology, art history, ethnology, history and numismatics, and great weight is given to material evidence which can complement and contradict the scarce written sources.

Egyptian Cultural Identity in the Architecture of Roman Egypt (30 BC-AD 325)

Egyptian Cultural Identity in the Architecture of Roman Egypt (30 BC-AD 325)
Author: Youssri Ezzat Hussein Abdelwahed
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2015-02-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1784910651

This volume considers the relationship between architectural form and different layers of identity assertion in Roman Egypt. It stresses the sophistication of the concept of identity, and the complex yet close association between architecture and identity.

The Archaeology of Late Antique 'Paganism'

The Archaeology of Late Antique 'Paganism'
Author: Luke Lavan
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 710
Release: 2011-06-22
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9004192379

Papers from the conference "The Archaeology of Late Antique Paganism" held in 2005 in Leuven.

A Cultural History of Money in Antiquity

A Cultural History of Money in Antiquity
Author: Stefan Krmnicek
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2021-03-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1350253464

The origins of the modern, Western concept of money can be traced back to the earliest electrum coins that were produced in Asia Minor in the seventh century BCE. While other forms of currency (shells, jewelry, silver ingots) were in widespread use long before this, the introduction of coinage aided and accelerated momentous economic, political, and social developments such as long-distance trade, wealth creation (and the social differentiation that followed from that), and the financing of military and political power. Coinage, though adopted inconsistently across different ancient societies, became a significant marker of identity and became embedded in practices of religion and superstition. And this period also witnessed the emergence of the problems of money - inflation, monetary instability, and the breakup of monetary unions - which have surfaced repeatedly in succeeding centuries. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, A Cultural History of Money in Antiquity presents essays that examine key cultural case studies of the period on the themes of technologies, ideas, ritual and religion, the everyday, art and representation, interpretation, and the issues of the age.

From Caesar to Augustus (c. 49 BC–AD 14)

From Caesar to Augustus (c. 49 BC–AD 14)
Author: Clare Rowan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2019
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 1107037484

A richly illustrated introduction to the contribution of Roman and provincial coinage to the history of this period, aimed at undergraduates.