Conveners
S23. ANTIQUITY 3. THE ISSUE OF AUTHORITY ON TOKENS OF THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN: ANTIQUITY 3. THE ISSUE OF AUTHORITY ON TOKENS OF THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN
- Clare Rowan (University of Warwick)
Description
Org. and chair: Clare Rowan
Ancient token studies have witnessed a resurgence in recent years, seen most vividly with 'Tokens: Culture, Connections, Communities' (ed. Crisà, Gkikaki & Rowan), 'Tokens, Value and Identity', (ed. Crisà), as well as the ongoing publication of unpublished material across Europe.
In spite of recent advances, the issue of who was responsible for the issuing of tokens, and how this authority was (or was not) communicated on these objects remains relatively unexplored. This session therefore focuses on the issue of authority in relation to tokens from Rome and Athens. Two papers focus on tokens from Athens, with Gkikaki presenting Hellenistic tokens from the Agora and Karra discussing a group of tokens with numeric values from a residential quarter to the immediate southeast of the Acropolis. The other two papers will focus on the Roman Empire, with Rowan focused on the lead tokens of Rome and Ostia, and Mondello the bronze and brass tokens from late antique Rome.
These papers will explore the issue of authority on tokens, and what this might reveal about the function of these enigmatic artefacts. Questions addressed by the session include: how was authority communicated on tokens, and how did this differ from official coinage? What does the absence of an authority reveal about the operation of tokens in antiquity? What types of authority can we identify? To what extent does the communication of authority align with the creation or communication of identity? How might tokens become an official channel of expression for cult associations or civic corporations? In what ways did tokens contribute to the roles of individuals, thereby imitating the structures of the state? How did the distribution and circulation of tokens create bonds between authority and users? The session will shed further light on the historic and numismatic significance of these often overlooked objects.
The tokens excavated in the Athenian Agora constitute a unique case of more than 300 types and approx. 1,400 specimens, of which the find spots can be plotted against the thriving political and administrative centre of Classical and Hellenistic Athens. The issue of authority – who was responsible for the issuing of tokens – has been the subject of debate between scholars. That Athenian tokens...
During the excavation for the construction of the Acropolis Museum, to the immediate southeast of the Acropolis, an important group of lead tokens was found inside a cistern containing debris from a cleanup operation of the area, after Sulla΄s invasion in 86 BC. It consists of 19 tokens, most of which bear an animal design in addition to a numerical sign, which could equally denote obols or...
It is clear from the find spots, designs and differing styles of lead tokens in Rome and Ostia that these were objects produced by a variety of different groups within the region. This paper explores the ways in which authority was (or was not) communicated on these issues, and the significance of this for our understanding of the use context of these pieces. Tokens name authorities in full,...
In una nota monografia del 1937, A. Alföldi analizzò una speciale categoria di tokens tardoantichi che combinano i busti degli imperatori romani da Diocleziano a Valentiano II con iconografie religiose egiziane ed isiache, accompagnate dalla legenda ‘Vota Publica’. Mentre singoli gruppi o nuovi ritrovamenti riguardanti questo materiale sono stati discussi in contributi occasionali, l’analisi...
