Ottományi Katalin szerk.: Régészeti tanulmányok (Studia Comitatensia 30. Szentendre, 2007.)

Torbágyi Melinda: Páty–Malom dűlő 1997–1999 – coin finds

MELINDA TORBÁGYI PATY - MALOM DULO 1997-1999 - COIN FINDS Summary In the Roman settlement and in its enviroment 394 coins came to light during the excavation. There are 387 Roman coins - 380 are suitable for analyse of the coin circulation - 1 Byzantine bronze coin from the 10th century, one Hungarian denar minted in the 1213th century and 5 Hungarian coins from the Modern Age. There are continuously Roman coins from the reign of Augustus to the end of the 4th century, though the different periods are represented with different intensity. To analyse the coin circulation of the settlement in Páty the coin finds of some other sites in eastern part of Pannónia were also investigated: Tác, Dunaújváros castellum and vicus, and Tokod. At first sight it seems surprising the relative large number of the coins from the time of the lulius-Claudius dynasty in Páty. They represent more than 5 % of the total coin material. There are 6 Roman Republican denarii among them, in addition they were found in a building of the settlement itself. The Roman Republican denarii arrived in Pannónia during the reign of Augustus according to the former researches. In the enviroment of the settlement a Celtic quinar came to light as well. The site lies in the western part of the Eraviscan territory. The Eravisc is the only tribe in Pannónia which minted silver coins on Roman prototypes and Roman standard. Disregarded the Amber Road and its enviroment Roman Republican coin hoards came to light only in the Eraviscan territory in Pannónia north of the Drau. In the neighbouring of Páty, in Bia two large coin hoards containing Republican and Eraviscan denarii came to light in 1796 and in 1846. The Eraviscan coinage can be dated to the Augustus period according to our present knowledge. The Republican coin hoards and the Republican imitations of the Eraviscs refer to intensiv Roman relations. The relative high proposal of the early coins in Páty can be explained in the light of the RomanEraviscan connections. It is an important question the chronological interpreation of the early Iulian-Claudian bronze coins. When the bronze coins of Augustus and Tiberius came to East-Pannonia, in their own age or later, during the reign of Claudius or even later. The coins in question are very worn, sometimes bear countermarks which refer to a long circulation. In addition we know that just the bronze coins of these two emperors have been used for a long time because there was a lack in small change from the end of Augustus' reign till 64. Even, Tiberius minted few bronze coins in the last parts of his reign and countermarked Augustus as-es. In the time of Claudius several contemporary imitation - semi-official or unofficial - was made in the Western provinces, esp. in Gallia. Nero did not issue new bronzes till 64. They all countermarked intensivly the earlier bronze emissions. Some bronze coins of Augustus and Tiberius can be found in the early military sites in East-Pannonia which can be dated to the Claudian time (e.g. auxilliary camp in Budapest-Bem tér) or later, in the Flavian period (Intercisa, Gorsium). These finds demonstrated that the bronze coins of the Augustus-Tiberius period were used minimum in the time of Claudius. In the light of the above mentioned the dating value of these coins can be cautiously treated. These coins, however, could arrive in about the middle of the first century even in the most careful estimation and they represent an important part of the coin material of the site. They are especially important because only very few Roman coins are known from this period in East-Pannonia. According to the former research the Roman coin circulation began during the reign of Nero, or rather under the Flavian dynasty. It, however, seems today that the former ideas on the coin circulation in Pannónia, especially in Northeast-Pannonia must be modified on the base of the new coin finds. The new excavations in Budapest and its enviroment produce more and more new coins and several ones among them belong to the Iulian-Claudian dynasty. For this reason it would be very important to work on the total coin finds in Aquincum and its region. The discussion on the early Roman coin circulation in Pannónia is not concluded yet. In the following periods the coin circulation is low in Páty, and it is not surprise in the case of a small site. It is, however, remarkable even in a small settlement, the very few coins of the Flavian dynasty. During the reign of Traianus and Hadrianus can be seen an increase in the coin circulation of the settlement, but it is general in all Pannónia. A decline can be realised in the coin circulation under the Antoninian emperors in Páty. This period, especially the reign of Marcus Aureus reflects a large coin inflow in Pannónia in general, surely in connection with the MarcomannSarmatian wars. This phenomenon is not realised in our investigated sites. Intercisa vicus is the only one which shows a minimal increase in this period. Under the Severus dynasty a small increase can be seen in the coin circulation, but it is similar in all in298