During recent archaeological field surveys carried out in Pontecagnano, a little hoard of Greek silver coins, datable between the end of the 5th and the beginning of the following century (19 items among staters and fractions from Poseidonia, Velia,Turi, Eraclea, Caulonia, Crotone, Terina), has been excavated. The composition of the treasure and its placement, a sacred area designed for votive rituals, provide grounds for reflection on the monetary customs of the inhabitants of this Etruscan-Sannitic centre of Southern Campania. So far, for the same chronological phase, such customs have only been documented by the finding of coins offered to the deceased in a small number of grave goods. Therefore, the cause-effect relation between mercenary practices of local communities and the arrival of foreign currency in the Gulf of Salerno cannot be excluded. They were probably members of groups known as Tyrrhenoi and Sileraioi believed, in some literature, to be mercenaries employed by Dionisius I of Syracuse originating from both Ager Picentius and from the region crossed by the river Sele. The hoard was probably the offering of a mercenary soldier coming home. The value of coins is estimated to correspond approximately to the monthly salary of a misthophoros of that time. The place of retrieval would confirm this hypothesis: the Northern sanctuary, in its present state appearing to be the only sacred part of the built-up area, was designated to both donations consisting of aes rude or coins and to votive offerings of a military type.

Un gruzzolo di monete d'argento da Pontecagnano: l'offerta votiva di un mercenario?

CANTILENA, Renata
2008-01-01

Abstract

During recent archaeological field surveys carried out in Pontecagnano, a little hoard of Greek silver coins, datable between the end of the 5th and the beginning of the following century (19 items among staters and fractions from Poseidonia, Velia,Turi, Eraclea, Caulonia, Crotone, Terina), has been excavated. The composition of the treasure and its placement, a sacred area designed for votive rituals, provide grounds for reflection on the monetary customs of the inhabitants of this Etruscan-Sannitic centre of Southern Campania. So far, for the same chronological phase, such customs have only been documented by the finding of coins offered to the deceased in a small number of grave goods. Therefore, the cause-effect relation between mercenary practices of local communities and the arrival of foreign currency in the Gulf of Salerno cannot be excluded. They were probably members of groups known as Tyrrhenoi and Sileraioi believed, in some literature, to be mercenaries employed by Dionisius I of Syracuse originating from both Ager Picentius and from the region crossed by the river Sele. The hoard was probably the offering of a mercenary soldier coming home. The value of coins is estimated to correspond approximately to the monthly salary of a misthophoros of that time. The place of retrieval would confirm this hypothesis: the Northern sanctuary, in its present state appearing to be the only sacred part of the built-up area, was designated to both donations consisting of aes rude or coins and to votive offerings of a military type.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11386/1954900
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