DOI Heft:
Artikuły / Articles
DOI Artikel:Zapolska, Anna: The solidus of Heraclius from Wargen in Sambia – reconsidered
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43282#0167
Tom XII
Kraków 2017
lii
ANNA ZAPOLSKA
Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw
The Solidus of Heraclius from Wargen in Sambia
- Reconsidered
ABSTRACT: A unique artefact was found in the Sambian Peninsula in
the 1980s. The excavation work conducted there yielded a solidus of Heraclius -
to datę, the only attested Byzantine coin found in this particular region.
The gold coinage of Heraclius was issued in large amounts and was used to
pay out tribute money to the Avars. It was only issued within the space of several
years, for as long as the Avars continued to pose a threat to the borders of the empire.
Nevertheless, numerous coins of this kind have been found in the Lower and Middle
Danube areas, in the Carpathian Basin, and further north, in areas along the Middle
and Lower Rhine.
Two such coins are recorded as having been found in lands now belonging to
Poland. The piece in question, found in Sambia, is the northernmost coin find of
this type. It should be emphasized that artefacts that can indisputably be linked to
Avarian influence are very rare in the Western Baltic area. These include ferrules
of belt ends, fragments of harnesses, and, occasionally, fragments of jewellery.
For this reason, the solidus of Heraclius found in Sambia raises some doubts and
questions relating to its provenance as well as the time and the circumstances of its
arrival. The present article aims to discuss the matter of the arrival of this coin in
the Western Baltic territory. Contrary to the general opinion that Byzantine coins
would have reached the area in question by coming across the Carpathian Basin
via the Slavs, the author of the article argues that this artefact may have reached
the Baltic area via the remnants of the Germanie population that would likely have
remained in the territories of present-day Poland and Ukraine.
KEY WORDS: solidus of Heraclius, Avars, West Balts, gold
167
Kraków 2017
lii
ANNA ZAPOLSKA
Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw
The Solidus of Heraclius from Wargen in Sambia
- Reconsidered
ABSTRACT: A unique artefact was found in the Sambian Peninsula in
the 1980s. The excavation work conducted there yielded a solidus of Heraclius -
to datę, the only attested Byzantine coin found in this particular region.
The gold coinage of Heraclius was issued in large amounts and was used to
pay out tribute money to the Avars. It was only issued within the space of several
years, for as long as the Avars continued to pose a threat to the borders of the empire.
Nevertheless, numerous coins of this kind have been found in the Lower and Middle
Danube areas, in the Carpathian Basin, and further north, in areas along the Middle
and Lower Rhine.
Two such coins are recorded as having been found in lands now belonging to
Poland. The piece in question, found in Sambia, is the northernmost coin find of
this type. It should be emphasized that artefacts that can indisputably be linked to
Avarian influence are very rare in the Western Baltic area. These include ferrules
of belt ends, fragments of harnesses, and, occasionally, fragments of jewellery.
For this reason, the solidus of Heraclius found in Sambia raises some doubts and
questions relating to its provenance as well as the time and the circumstances of its
arrival. The present article aims to discuss the matter of the arrival of this coin in
the Western Baltic territory. Contrary to the general opinion that Byzantine coins
would have reached the area in question by coming across the Carpathian Basin
via the Slavs, the author of the article argues that this artefact may have reached
the Baltic area via the remnants of the Germanie population that would likely have
remained in the territories of present-day Poland and Ukraine.
KEY WORDS: solidus of Heraclius, Avars, West Balts, gold
167