DOI Heft:
Artykuły/Articles
DOI Artikel:Petac, Emanuel; Vîlcu, Aurel: About the Diobols Hoard of Apollonia Pontica and Mesembria Discovered in 1911 in Constanţa (Ancient Tomis)
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.57341#0052
EMANUEL PETAC, AUREL VILCU
50
existed in parallel and a period of only diobols circulating”;28 the replacement of
the “large silver denominations with Apollo seized.. .probably after the conquest of
Amphipolis (by Phillip II in 357 BC)... or latest after his campaign in Thrace”29 by
the frontal Apollo diobols taking place during the reign of Phillip II,30 probably not
so long after 357 BC. Analyzing the structure of the hoard discovered at Constanta
(Tomis) in 1911, we notice significant similarities with those discovered at General
Kantardjievo (Aksakovo municipality, Varna region), Vratarite (Dobrich region,
in Bulgaria) and Medovets (Varna region, in Bulgaria). There are 14 diobols from
Apollonia; four of them (28.57%) have no magistrate name and ten others show
different abbreviated signatures as follows: 2 FAAY (14.28%), 2 KQM (14.28%),
3 TO (21.42%), 1 KTH (7.14%), 1 01 (7.14%), 1 1TA (7.14%). Most of them are
present in all hoards: TAAY (at General Kantardjievo 4%, Medovets 10.52%,
Vratarite 1.72%), KQM (General Kantardjievo 12%, Medovets 5.26%, Vratarite
5.17%), IO (General Kantardjievo 20%, Medovets 10.52%, Vratarite 20.68%),
KTH (General Kantardjievo 12%, Vratarite 5.17%), OI (Medovets 10.52%, Vratarite
1.72%), HA (Vratarite 1.72%). Also, there are a lot of no magistrate name diobols
everywhere: General Kantardjievo 40%, Medovets 63.15%, Vratarite 53.44%. This
overview on the diobols from all these hoards reflects the strong and permanent
presence of samples having no magistrate name and also the significant presence of
the magistrate signature IO. For all the others, percentages show a great variability
caused perhaps by the varying extent to which the hoards have been recovered
or the volume of a particular issue. Future research and discoveries will show if
there is also a chronological meaning. Observing that the hoard from Vratarite
not only contains diobols from Apollonia and Mesembria but also from Istros
and that the Medovets hoard not only contains diobols but also drachms from
Apollonia, it seems that only the hoard from General Kantardjievo has the highest
degree of similarity with Constanfa 1911 discovery. At the same time, we should
notice that the single hoard containing all the magistrates from the 1911 Constanfa
hoard is Vratarite and we cannot ignore the suggestive contemporaneousness of
the two discoveries. It suffices to recall here that the suggested date for Vratarite
hoard is around 339-335 BC,31 while for General Kantardjievo about 340-320 BC
or rather 339 BC32 and Medovets between 320-313 BC.33 Despite the fact that
the 1958 Mangalia (Kallatis) hoard contains three diobols from Apollonia signed
28 IVANOVA 2017: 94.
29 Ibidem'. 95.
30 Ibidem'. 95.
31 KARAYOTOV 1994: 27; DRAGANOV and PAUNOV 2017: 308.
32 Ibidem'. 312.
33 KARAYOTOV 1994: 27; DRAGANOV and PAUNOV 2017: 308.
50
existed in parallel and a period of only diobols circulating”;28 the replacement of
the “large silver denominations with Apollo seized.. .probably after the conquest of
Amphipolis (by Phillip II in 357 BC)... or latest after his campaign in Thrace”29 by
the frontal Apollo diobols taking place during the reign of Phillip II,30 probably not
so long after 357 BC. Analyzing the structure of the hoard discovered at Constanta
(Tomis) in 1911, we notice significant similarities with those discovered at General
Kantardjievo (Aksakovo municipality, Varna region), Vratarite (Dobrich region,
in Bulgaria) and Medovets (Varna region, in Bulgaria). There are 14 diobols from
Apollonia; four of them (28.57%) have no magistrate name and ten others show
different abbreviated signatures as follows: 2 FAAY (14.28%), 2 KQM (14.28%),
3 TO (21.42%), 1 KTH (7.14%), 1 01 (7.14%), 1 1TA (7.14%). Most of them are
present in all hoards: TAAY (at General Kantardjievo 4%, Medovets 10.52%,
Vratarite 1.72%), KQM (General Kantardjievo 12%, Medovets 5.26%, Vratarite
5.17%), IO (General Kantardjievo 20%, Medovets 10.52%, Vratarite 20.68%),
KTH (General Kantardjievo 12%, Vratarite 5.17%), OI (Medovets 10.52%, Vratarite
1.72%), HA (Vratarite 1.72%). Also, there are a lot of no magistrate name diobols
everywhere: General Kantardjievo 40%, Medovets 63.15%, Vratarite 53.44%. This
overview on the diobols from all these hoards reflects the strong and permanent
presence of samples having no magistrate name and also the significant presence of
the magistrate signature IO. For all the others, percentages show a great variability
caused perhaps by the varying extent to which the hoards have been recovered
or the volume of a particular issue. Future research and discoveries will show if
there is also a chronological meaning. Observing that the hoard from Vratarite
not only contains diobols from Apollonia and Mesembria but also from Istros
and that the Medovets hoard not only contains diobols but also drachms from
Apollonia, it seems that only the hoard from General Kantardjievo has the highest
degree of similarity with Constanfa 1911 discovery. At the same time, we should
notice that the single hoard containing all the magistrates from the 1911 Constanfa
hoard is Vratarite and we cannot ignore the suggestive contemporaneousness of
the two discoveries. It suffices to recall here that the suggested date for Vratarite
hoard is around 339-335 BC,31 while for General Kantardjievo about 340-320 BC
or rather 339 BC32 and Medovets between 320-313 BC.33 Despite the fact that
the 1958 Mangalia (Kallatis) hoard contains three diobols from Apollonia signed
28 IVANOVA 2017: 94.
29 Ibidem'. 95.
30 Ibidem'. 95.
31 KARAYOTOV 1994: 27; DRAGANOV and PAUNOV 2017: 308.
32 Ibidem'. 312.
33 KARAYOTOV 1994: 27; DRAGANOV and PAUNOV 2017: 308.