DOI article:
Horsnæs, Helle W.; Refshauge Beck, Malene: A hoard of republican denarii from Skellerup, Denmark - a preliminary report
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49247#0044
HELLE W. HORSN.ES, MALENE REFSHAUGE BECK
40
Most of the coins can be identified by type and thus dated within a very narrow
time frame (see coin list). The earliest is RRC type 231/1, dated 138 BC; it features
Roma on the obverse and Juno in a biga of goats on the reverse. Two of the denarii
cannot be safely ascribed to a particular type, but they both belong to a series
with Roma on the obverse and a quadriga on the reverse and should be dated to
144-100 BC. The terminal coin is an early Augustan fragment of type RTC I2 410
dated to 13 BC.
The denarii thus range in age from the mid-2nd century BC to the early Augustan
period. This may at first sight seem a very long time frame, but it is in fact very
characteristic for denarius hoards containing a significant proportion of Republican
coins and an early Augustan terminal coin. Striking similarities can be found by
comparing the structure of the Skellerup hoard to other hoards with an early Augustan
terminal coin. This is true, in particular, with regard to the Ivano-Frankivsk Hoard
recently found in western Ukraine (the end coin of which is dated to between
9-5 BC),7 but also, albeit in a less pronounced way, to the structure of the Nowa
Wieś Głubczycka and Połaniec hoards from southern Poland,8 and to a group of
hoards from southeastern Europe that have recently been the subject of study.9
Furthermore, while there are similarities between the structure of the Skellerup hoard
and the general pattern of contemporary hoards from Romania, the structure does
not comply with Iberian and Italian hoards from the period.10 Any conclusions that
we come to can only be tentative because of the relatively small number of coins in
the hoard as known today, but at present it seems likely that the coins for the hoard
were collected in - and came to the Danish area from - southeastern Europe rather
than from Italy or the West.
Republican coins are rarely found in Denmark. Ten single finds are known, all
from sites in southern and eastern Denmark (except Bornholm). Only one was found
in an archaeologically dated context, namely a denarius from 47—46 BC (RRC 460)
found in stratum VR of house VII in the Dankirke site in southern Jutland. This layer
was dated to the Early Roman Iron Age (c. AD 1-150).11 The remaining coins are
either old finds with little or no known details of the circumstances of the find, or
they are detector finds. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that two Republican
denarii come from Gudme in southeastern Funen, one of the most important Iron
Age sites in Denmark. One of these coins is probably from the cemetery area east
7 DYMOWSKI 2016: find no. 40 = MYZGIN 2017: find no. 14.
8 DYMOWSKI 2016: find nos. 114 and 135.
9 BILIĆ 2012; sec also: DYMOWSKI 2016: charts 2-5.
10 Kris Lockyear, pers. comm. We would like to thank Dr. Lockyear for sharing his opinion on the material
with us.
BJERG 2011.
40
Most of the coins can be identified by type and thus dated within a very narrow
time frame (see coin list). The earliest is RRC type 231/1, dated 138 BC; it features
Roma on the obverse and Juno in a biga of goats on the reverse. Two of the denarii
cannot be safely ascribed to a particular type, but they both belong to a series
with Roma on the obverse and a quadriga on the reverse and should be dated to
144-100 BC. The terminal coin is an early Augustan fragment of type RTC I2 410
dated to 13 BC.
The denarii thus range in age from the mid-2nd century BC to the early Augustan
period. This may at first sight seem a very long time frame, but it is in fact very
characteristic for denarius hoards containing a significant proportion of Republican
coins and an early Augustan terminal coin. Striking similarities can be found by
comparing the structure of the Skellerup hoard to other hoards with an early Augustan
terminal coin. This is true, in particular, with regard to the Ivano-Frankivsk Hoard
recently found in western Ukraine (the end coin of which is dated to between
9-5 BC),7 but also, albeit in a less pronounced way, to the structure of the Nowa
Wieś Głubczycka and Połaniec hoards from southern Poland,8 and to a group of
hoards from southeastern Europe that have recently been the subject of study.9
Furthermore, while there are similarities between the structure of the Skellerup hoard
and the general pattern of contemporary hoards from Romania, the structure does
not comply with Iberian and Italian hoards from the period.10 Any conclusions that
we come to can only be tentative because of the relatively small number of coins in
the hoard as known today, but at present it seems likely that the coins for the hoard
were collected in - and came to the Danish area from - southeastern Europe rather
than from Italy or the West.
Republican coins are rarely found in Denmark. Ten single finds are known, all
from sites in southern and eastern Denmark (except Bornholm). Only one was found
in an archaeologically dated context, namely a denarius from 47—46 BC (RRC 460)
found in stratum VR of house VII in the Dankirke site in southern Jutland. This layer
was dated to the Early Roman Iron Age (c. AD 1-150).11 The remaining coins are
either old finds with little or no known details of the circumstances of the find, or
they are detector finds. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that two Republican
denarii come from Gudme in southeastern Funen, one of the most important Iron
Age sites in Denmark. One of these coins is probably from the cemetery area east
7 DYMOWSKI 2016: find no. 40 = MYZGIN 2017: find no. 14.
8 DYMOWSKI 2016: find nos. 114 and 135.
9 BILIĆ 2012; sec also: DYMOWSKI 2016: charts 2-5.
10 Kris Lockyear, pers. comm. We would like to thank Dr. Lockyear for sharing his opinion on the material
with us.
BJERG 2011.