Damanhur's Lair

The hoard of Damanhur ( IGCH 1664) is a coin treasure from the time of Macedonian rule in Egypt , unearthed by unknowns , whose coins first appeared in Damanhur from the end of 1905 .

Find context

The exact circumstances of the find are unknown. The find was probably made by locals. Since the coins ended up in the hands of traders in Demanhur after their discovery, from where the find got its name, the place of discovery is probably to be found in Demanhur or its immediate vicinity.

The Demanhur treasure find can be dated to around the end of 1905, as local rumors of a find emerge during this period.

conservation

The individual coins are in very good condition. All coins show slight oxidation and contamination. The deposits on the coins prove that the coin find was housed in ceramic vessels . Only a few coins show a very strong degree of corrosion . Presumably they came from a vessel that was broken, allowing water and minerals from the environment to penetrate.

content

After it was recovered, the find was split up and sold on the open market. Thus, the investigations could only deal with coins that were purchased in the same local area, that were similarly corroded and damaged. The criterion of the coins bought in the same local area is decisive for this coin treasure and helped with the allocation of the now 4826 coins, which certainly came from the find at Damanhur. The coins are now distributed in different collections.

The coins are their minting places and thereby the nine major minting areas under Alexander the Great and Philip III. Associated with Arrhidaios . These nine regions are Macedonia, Greece , Asia Minor , Cilicia , Cyprus , Syria with Phenicia , Egypt and Babylonia . The subdivision is based on mentions of the minting location and the different quality of the material.

Macedonia

1638 coins come from Macedonia , making them the largest group (34%) within the Damanhur hoards. The coins can be assigned to the two largest minting locations in Macedonia, Amphipolis and Pella .

In the Amphipolis coin series one can see the continuous use of the obverse die. The stamp was still used and shows signs of wear. The minting grade has changed and refined only slightly during this time. From 325 BC ChrΔΡΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΕ ("King Alexander") is minted on the coins. The majority of the coins from Amphipolis were made between 336 and 323 BC. Manufactured.

Other coins that are very similar to the coins from Amphipolis are attributed to Pella, the second major mint in Macedonia. In contrast to Amphipolis, only one magistrate was responsible for minting coins in Pella. Since coins from Pella are found more frequently in the interior of Macedonia and coins from Amphipolis appeared more and more in coin finds abroad, a classification was made. Coins from Pella were probably used inland Macedonia because of their more refined processing, while the higher quality amphipolis coins were intended for trade. The coins from Pella show hardly any signs of use in the treasure trove, which is why it is assumed that they ended up in the “Demanhur Hoard” without being in circulation.

Phenicia

713 coins come from Phenicia , which corresponds to a share of 15% of the find. In Phenicia six different places were responsible for the coinage of the Macedonian king. Three coins come from Berytus and another unknown mint. Carne delivered two coins. 216 coins come from Arados . Due to their stamp design, these could not be assigned to Sidon or Ake . These two minting locations will be examined more closely due to the dating.

112 coins come from Sidon. In the first two years the city name was stamped on the coins with Phoenician letters. After that, Greek Σ or ΣΙ stood for the city. From 320 BC. The name of Philip Arrhidaios was struck on the coin instead of Alexander's name. Greek numbers were struck on the coins of Sidon, which indicate the year of minting since the start of the minting of Alexander coins. Sidon coins from 323 BC Chr. Are missing. This minting year is also missing in other coin finds that contain coins from Sidon. It is believed that the change from Phoenician to Greek numbering was the problem. Most of the coins (exactly 206 pieces) come from Ake, where there was no coinage among the Persians . The latter minted their coins in Tire. It was not until Alexander settled a master of Sidon in Ake. In Ake there was always only one coin magistrate. At the beginning there was only the symbol of the magistrate on the coins, after that, only from 327–326 BC. BC, the letters of the city appeared.

Babylonia

629 coins come from Babylon . That is 13% in the coin find. The city was probably already a minting place under the Persian rule, but after Alexander the Great took the city, Babylon became the most important minting place after Macedonia. Babylon was the most important trading post in the east. He stayed that way until 300 BC. When Alexandria gained power in Egypt. Thus the importance of the city as a minting location was enormous. The "Demanhur Hoard" contains a large collection of coins from the first twelve minting years from Babylon.

Dating the burial

The burial of the coin find can be dated to one year based on the coins it contains. The coin series from Sidon is used for dating. Due to the uninterrupted series from Sidon to the minting with man, it is assumed that this mint year was the last year of the series contained in the hoard of Demanhur. Ο names the 15 year of coinage in this series. Thus, for 15 years, the coins in Sidon were minted in Alexander's coin program. The find contains 33 coins from this minting year.

The Alexander coinage in Sidon begins in 333 BC. Dated. Alexander the Great certainly had the coinage in the newly occupied territories quickly changed. His gain in prestige through his image on the coins and his need for gold for the campaign will have meant that Sidon, barely under Alexander's rule, began to mint its coins. This means that coinage in Sidon in 333 BC. Have begun. If one now proceeds from Ο, one arrives at the 15th year of the coinage from 333 BC. The year of issue in Sidon ran from October 1st of the year to September 30th of the following year. Thus, the minting time for the last coins from Sidon in the "Hort of Demanhur" is October 1, 319 BC. Until September 31, 318 BC. Chr.

Since the coins from Sidon were represented almost uninterrupted in their series and continuously in the coin find, the lack of coins minted with Greek 16 suggests that the "hoard of Demanhur" was buried in front of it. In the period from 327–326 BC The year of his reign was stamped on the coins from Ake by the dominant dynast. This meant that the ruler was counted from the age of 20. The last mint mark of the city, which is included in the "Hort Demanhur", shows his 29th year of life and is therefore to "319–318 BC". Chr. "Dated. Since this coin series is just as numerous and continuously represented in the coin find as the coin series from Sidon, it is assumed that the find had to be buried before the coin year marked 30th. These stamp dates make it clear that the coins of the "Hoard of Demanhur" were between the end of 319 and the end of 318 BC. Were buried.

Reasons of burial

At that time, the coins had a high value, which is why they were buried and remained in the ground for a reason. Since the exact location of the coin treasure could still not be clarified, the reasons for the burial are just as unknown and speculative. From that time, 319–318 BC. No political unrest can be found in this part of Egypt. The military actions of the Egyptian Diadoch Ptolemy I took place from 319 to 318 in the areas of Cyprus and in what is now Syria and Israel . The rise of Eumenes in Phenicia affected coastal cities. His establishment of a military fleet would have posed only a limited threat to the Nile Delta . Since these plans of Eumenes failed, no real threat can be seen here either. A burial because of internal political difficulties or personal reasons is not tenable as a reason without knowledge of the location and can only be shown as a possibility. The former owner of the coins is also unknown and cannot be identified. This makes all considerations about the reasons for the burial speculative.

literature

Edward T. Newell : Alexander Hoards II. Demanhur Hoard. (= Numismatic Notes and Monographs. No. 19) American Numismatic Society, New York 1923.
Martin Jessop Price : The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus: A British Museum Catalog. 2 volumes, British Museum Press, London 1991; Swiss Numismatic Society, Zurich 1991, ISBN 3908103002 .
Charles C. Torrey: Aramaic Graffiti on Coins of Demanhur. (= Numismatic Notes and Monographs. No. 77). New York 1937.
Orestes H. Zervos: Additions to the Demanhur Hoard of Alexander Tetradrachms , in: Numismatic Chronicle 140 (1980), 185-188.