https://thelincolnite.co.uk/2017/08/gold-rush-iron-age-treasure-discovered-in-lincoln/
another hoard!
This habit of storing money in pots is quite useful for the archaeologist (not to mention numismatist). It appears to have been a fairly widespread classical period practice, witness Cornelius Nepos' story of Hannibal tricking the Cretans:
When Antiochus had fled, Hannibal feared that he would be betrayed, which no doubt would have happened, if he had given him the opportunity, so he went to Crete, to the Gortynians, in order to consider where to direct himself. But, as the most cunning of all men, he saw that he would be in great danger, unless he took precautions, on account of the greed of the Cretans. For he had a lot of money with him and he knew that rumours about this would get out. So he made this plan: he filled many amphorae with lead and covered it over on top with gold and silver. He deposited these in the temple of Diana, with the leaders present, pretending that he was entrusting his fortune to their faithfulness. Once they had been tricked, he filled some bronze statues, which he had brought with him, with all his money and left them out in the open at his house. The Gortynians guarded the temple with the greatest care, not so much from other people as from Hannibal, to ensure that he did not remove [his money] and take it away with him without their knowledge. - Nepos, Lives of the Eminent Commanders, Hannibal 9
The Cretans evidently saw nothing unusual about amphorae packed with money. This suggests we can expect more such finds, given the apparent popularity of the custom.
One thing that intrigues me about amphorae packed with money is the weight. Traditionally the weight of the amphora was the same as the weight of the contents, so an empty one weighed half as much as a full one.
Now the average sized amphora was 20 to 25 litres. I've been told there's 400 5 pence pieces per litre vodka bottle, so a 25l amphora would hold about 10,000 of them which weigh about 32.5kg
Which strangely enough doesn't seem all that heavy or unmanageable.
Anybody got better figures for coins by volume ;)
No figures, but another example - this Roman hoard from 2016 (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/apr/29/massive-haul-ancient-roman-coins-unearthed-spain) had 600kg of coins in 19 amphorae, which is 31.6 kg per amphora. So your figure sounds about right.
Amphorae were the ubiquitous storage vessel so using them for coins is not surprising (but really, what were they thinking? Surely a wooden chest would be less prone to getting broken?). On the subject of amphorae, if not filled with coins, when next in Rome, Monte Testaccio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Testaccio) is worth a look, as an illustration of how ubiquitous amphorae were.
Quote from: RichT on May 21, 2018, 10:32:16 AM
Amphorae were the ubiquitous storage vessel so using them for coins is not surprising (but really, what were they thinking? Surely a wooden chest would be less prone to getting broken?). On the subject of amphorae, if not filled with coins, when next in Rome, Monte Testaccio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Testaccio) is worth a look, as an illustration of how ubiquitous amphorae were.
We discussed the ubiquity of amphorae and their archaeological record extensively in another thread recently :) . The Monte Testaccio ones are all (or nearly all) olive oil containers, which were hard to reuse. Other types e.g. for wine could be reused for other purposes after rinsing (well, maybe not the
garum ones). Reusing amphorae you had lying around might be more cost effective than paying for a chest, especially if you intended to bury them.
Quote from: Erpingham on May 21, 2018, 10:47:08 AM
Quote from: RichT on May 21, 2018, 10:32:16 AM
Amphorae were the ubiquitous storage vessel so using them for coins is not surprising (but really, what were they thinking? Surely a wooden chest would be less prone to getting broken?). On the subject of amphorae, if not filled with coins, when next in Rome, Monte Testaccio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Testaccio) is worth a look, as an illustration of how ubiquitous amphorae were.
We discussed the ubiquity of amphorae and their archaeological record extensively in another thread recently :) . The Monte Testaccio ones are all (or nearly all) olive oil containers, which were hard to reuse. Other types e.g. for wine could be reused for other purposes after rinsing (well, maybe not the garum ones). Reusing amphorae you had lying around might be more cost effective than paying for a chest, especially if you intended to bury them.
with the advantage that you don't need to worry about the olive oil or garum
Pecunia non olet
8)
Quote from: Jim Webster on May 21, 2018, 10:48:56 AM
Quote from: Erpingham on May 21, 2018, 10:47:08 AM
Quote from: RichT on May 21, 2018, 10:32:16 AM
Amphorae were the ubiquitous storage vessel so using them for coins is not surprising (but really, what were they thinking? Surely a wooden chest would be less prone to getting broken?). On the subject of amphorae, if not filled with coins, when next in Rome, Monte Testaccio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Testaccio) is worth a look, as an illustration of how ubiquitous amphorae were.
We discussed the ubiquity of amphorae and their archaeological record extensively in another thread recently :) . The Monte Testaccio ones are all (or nearly all) olive oil containers, which were hard to reuse. Other types e.g. for wine could be reused for other purposes after rinsing (well, maybe not the garum ones). Reusing amphorae you had lying around might be more cost effective than paying for a chest, especially if you intended to bury them.
with the advantage that you don't need to worry about the olive oil or garum
Pecunia non olet
8)
yum, garum flavoured coins
Quote from: Holly on May 21, 2018, 09:00:53 PM
Quote from: Jim Webster on May 21, 2018, 10:48:56 AM
Quote from: Erpingham on May 21, 2018, 10:47:08 AM
Quote from: RichT on May 21, 2018, 10:32:16 AM
Amphorae were the ubiquitous storage vessel so using them for coins is not surprising (but really, what were they thinking? Surely a wooden chest would be less prone to getting broken?). On the subject of amphorae, if not filled with coins, when next in Rome, Monte Testaccio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Testaccio) is worth a look, as an illustration of how ubiquitous amphorae were.
onion soup flavoured, my favorite ;)
We discussed the ubiquity of amphorae and their archaeological record extensively in another thread recently :) . The Monte Testaccio ones are all (or nearly all) olive oil containers, which were hard to reuse. Other types e.g. for wine could be reused for other purposes after rinsing (well, maybe not the garum ones). Reusing amphorae you had lying around might be more cost effective than paying for a chest, especially if you intended to bury them.
with the advantage that you don't need to worry about the olive oil or garum
Pecunia non olet
8)
yum, garum flavoured coins