DOI issue:
Artikuły / Articles
DOI article:Kotowicz, Piotr N.; Śnieżko, Grzegorz: Clipped Prague groschen of John of Luxembourg (John of Bohemia) from the Medieval hillfort in Sanok - Biała Góra
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41338#0229
CLIPPED PRAGUE GROSCHEN...
the cultural layers, some shards of pottery (including glazed ware) were found,
as were animal bones and metal objects such as a crossbow bolt head and
an arrowhead; some plates of lamellar armour were also found. Much morę
interesting finds come from Trench 2. The top layer was madę up of forest
humus and black charred soil; the latter is probably also a part of the utility layer
indiscernible from the humus, within which - close to the Southern profile - there
is a regular ąuadrangular cluster (2.09 m x 1.11 m) of large uncharred Stones
(object 2) in the form of a single layer, perhaps a remnant of some unidentified
dry foundation footing. Underneath, in the west part of the excavation, there is
a layer of much bumt reddish clay with charred Stones, within which three morę
objects were discovered: two large ąuadrangular pits (objects 1 and 3) left by
pillars (the dimensions of object 2 are 28 cm x 30 cm, with a thickness of 44 cm;
those of object 3 are 28 cm x 20 cm, with a thickness of 22 cm) and one smali
ąuadrangular pit (object 4) left by a pillar with a truncated end (10 cm x 10 cm,
with a thickness 6 cm). The localization of the pits may be indicative of their
connection to the hillforfs fortification system, but it may also be that they are
relics of the surrounding built-up area. Broken pieces of pottery (including glazed
ware) and some animal bones were recovered from the trench. Besides these things,
a fairly well-represented conglomeration of iron artefacts were also found there,
including, among other things, two morę fragments of lamellar armour plates,
two arrowheads with a tang and a Socket, and one crossbow bolt head.
The first individual artefact found during the aforementioned excavations
was the second of John of Luxembourg’s silver Prague groschen. It was deposited
in the forest humus layer of Trench 1 (Fig. 2.2), at a depth of about 15 cm.16 This
coin is much morę well-preserved than the previous one. The reverse is shifted by
180° in relation to the obverse. The inner legend of the obverse reads as follows:
IOhANn£S:[PR]IMVS. As compared with the piece discovered in the northem
part of the courtyard, a greater fragment of the inscription from the outer circum-
ference is also legible: [+DGTGRATIA*]R£X: [BjOGMf [G]. The arrangement of
the characters and the crown is slightly disturbed by a double strike, traces of
which can be seen on the obverse. The reverse of the coin is in better condition
as well, even though the lion’s head and hind legs are somewhat obliterated. Half
of the circumference legend can also be seen on this side of the coin: [*+*GROSS]
TFRAGGNSGS. The coin is clipped around in a way that is identical to the one
described above. In conseąuence, this groschen has a weight of 2.68 g, and its
dimensions are 23.8 mm x 24.9 mm (Fig. 4).
16 Location: are 1N1W (0.80 m to the north, 0.60 m to the east), a depth of 481.92 m a.s.l.; from
the collection ofthe Historical Museum of Sanok, no. ks. poi. 1/1/2014.
the cultural layers, some shards of pottery (including glazed ware) were found,
as were animal bones and metal objects such as a crossbow bolt head and
an arrowhead; some plates of lamellar armour were also found. Much morę
interesting finds come from Trench 2. The top layer was madę up of forest
humus and black charred soil; the latter is probably also a part of the utility layer
indiscernible from the humus, within which - close to the Southern profile - there
is a regular ąuadrangular cluster (2.09 m x 1.11 m) of large uncharred Stones
(object 2) in the form of a single layer, perhaps a remnant of some unidentified
dry foundation footing. Underneath, in the west part of the excavation, there is
a layer of much bumt reddish clay with charred Stones, within which three morę
objects were discovered: two large ąuadrangular pits (objects 1 and 3) left by
pillars (the dimensions of object 2 are 28 cm x 30 cm, with a thickness of 44 cm;
those of object 3 are 28 cm x 20 cm, with a thickness of 22 cm) and one smali
ąuadrangular pit (object 4) left by a pillar with a truncated end (10 cm x 10 cm,
with a thickness 6 cm). The localization of the pits may be indicative of their
connection to the hillforfs fortification system, but it may also be that they are
relics of the surrounding built-up area. Broken pieces of pottery (including glazed
ware) and some animal bones were recovered from the trench. Besides these things,
a fairly well-represented conglomeration of iron artefacts were also found there,
including, among other things, two morę fragments of lamellar armour plates,
two arrowheads with a tang and a Socket, and one crossbow bolt head.
The first individual artefact found during the aforementioned excavations
was the second of John of Luxembourg’s silver Prague groschen. It was deposited
in the forest humus layer of Trench 1 (Fig. 2.2), at a depth of about 15 cm.16 This
coin is much morę well-preserved than the previous one. The reverse is shifted by
180° in relation to the obverse. The inner legend of the obverse reads as follows:
IOhANn£S:[PR]IMVS. As compared with the piece discovered in the northem
part of the courtyard, a greater fragment of the inscription from the outer circum-
ference is also legible: [+DGTGRATIA*]R£X: [BjOGMf [G]. The arrangement of
the characters and the crown is slightly disturbed by a double strike, traces of
which can be seen on the obverse. The reverse of the coin is in better condition
as well, even though the lion’s head and hind legs are somewhat obliterated. Half
of the circumference legend can also be seen on this side of the coin: [*+*GROSS]
TFRAGGNSGS. The coin is clipped around in a way that is identical to the one
described above. In conseąuence, this groschen has a weight of 2.68 g, and its
dimensions are 23.8 mm x 24.9 mm (Fig. 4).
16 Location: are 1N1W (0.80 m to the north, 0.60 m to the east), a depth of 481.92 m a.s.l.; from
the collection ofthe Historical Museum of Sanok, no. ks. poi. 1/1/2014.