Folia archeologica 10.

L. Barkóczi - A. Kerényi: Bronze medaillons of Thracian issue from Brigetio

Bronze médaillons of Thracian issue from Brigetio 83 nonia through Thracia. Exploration has unearthed 1200 graves in the cemeteries of Intercisa.

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4 The archaeological material of the city is entirely published so naturally every Roman coin found in the territory of Intercisa and the Roman currency in the town have been fully worked up too.

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5 But although in the numismatical material colonial coins are not rare, not a single medallion of Thracian issue was found in it. It is shown by this circumstance that the coin material in question could not be brought by the Eastern settlers or by the soldiers recruited in the East, otherwise one or two pieces should have undoubtedly occurred in Intercisa as well. Being established that the way of these medallions to our area cannot be brought in connection either with the civilian population or with the troops coming from the East, it remains to search for the solution of our problem in the history of those military divisions, which were stationed in this area in the first half of the third century, and which had some relations with Thracia. Such are the legio I and II adiutrix. The legio II adiutrix was stationed in Aquincum.

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6 Already at the beginning of the reign of Septimius Severus a vexillatio of this legio took part in the campaign against Pescennius Niger in Thracia. On the inscription of a gravestone found at Aquincum we read of a soldier . . . qui defunctus est Perento.

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7 It is revealed by this inscription that the soldiers of the legio II adiutrix have walked in Perinthus, where the bulk of the bronze medallions comes from. According to Ritterling

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8 this soldier may have belonged to the vexillatio, which stood under the command of Fabius Cilo (praepositus vexillationibus Perinthi pergentibus) right at the beginning of the war against Niger. When the siege of Byzantion was given up, the Moesian troops and the vexillatio of the II adiutrix continued fighting in Asia Minor and Syria. The vexillatio also took part in the Parthian wars of Caracalla and in the Persian ones of Severus Alexander or Gordianus. As we see, the legio II adiutrix had an immediate connection with Thracia, so we could understand, should such medallions have occurred at the station of the legio II adiutrix, in Aquincum. So some of the samples described of uncertain site possibly came from Aquincum, we have no certain datum in this respect. As regards the legio of Brigetio, the legio I adiutrix, its vexillations went to the East several times already in the second century, taking part in various expeditions there. It is sufficient to allude to the grave inscription of L. Március Plaetorius Celer on the Pontus under Hadrianus

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9 or to the vexillatio taking part in the Jewish war of this Emperor,

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0 or to the division fighting in the Parthian war of Verus. 2

4 Sági К., Intercisa I. pp. 61-123, and Intercisa II. pp. 560—624. 2

5 R. Alföldi M., Intercisa I. pp. 142—167. 2

6 Ritterling, E., Legio, PW XII. Sp. 1450—1451. 2' The gravestone was found at Óbuda. CIL III 13374 (domo Mursa vix.) an XXXVI. stip XVIII. Aurelia(Priscilla coiiux eiu) Prisca. et Probilla filias) et heredes posuerunt qui (defunctus est Perento) et ossua eiius in une locu) sunt. 2

8 Ritterling, E., ibid. 2

9 Ritterling, E., Legio, PW Sp. 1398—1399. 3

0 Barkóczi L., Hadrianuskori éremlelet Brigetióból. (Coins of the time of Hadrianus from Brigetio) NK 56—57. (1957—1958). 6*