solidi of valens, anastasius and maurice tiberius from scharnegoutum, prov. friesland / p.e. van...

8/9/2019 Solidi of Valens, Anastasius and Maurice Tiberius from Scharnegoutum, Prov. Friesland / P.E. van Schie-Herweijer

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Berichten van de Rijksdienst

voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek


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A F K O R T I N G E N

AE L'Anne'e EpigraphiqueAnt. Class, UAntiquiU ClassiqueAnt. Journ. Antiquaries Journal

APL Analec ta Praehistorica LeidemiaArch. Journ. Archaeological JournalAWN Archeologische Werkgemeenschap voor

NederlandBAI Biologisch-Archaeologisch Inst ituu t,

GroningenBJ Banner JahrbiicherBMC H. Mattingly 1965: Coins of the Roman Empire

in the British Museum, i, LondonBomM Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastric htBRGK Bericht der Romisch-Germanischen KomrnissionBROB Berichten van de Rijksdienst voor het

Oudheidkundig BodemonderzoekCIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum

D H. Dessau 1892-916: Inscriptiones Latinaeselectae, i—in Berolini

EE Ephemeris epigraphicaER A.W. Byvanck 1931-47: Excerpta Romana; de

brannen der Romeinsdw geschiedenis van.Nederland, i—in s-Gravenhage

HKC P.V. Hill, J.P.C. Kent/R.A.G, Carson 1965:Late Roman B ronze Coinage, London

IPEK J ahrbuch fur prfihistorische un d ethnographischeKunst

IPP Instituut voor Prae- en Protohistorie,Amsterdam

JM P Jaarboek voor Munt- en PenningkundeJRS Journal of Roman Studies

JVT Jaanerslag van de Vereeniging voor TerpenonderzoekMA Medieval ArchaeologyNAP Nieuw Amsterdams Peil (Dutch Datum Level)NDV Nieuwe Drents(ch)e VolksalmanakNKNOB Nieuwsbulletin van de Koninklijke Nederlandse

Oudheidkundige BondOML N.R. Oudheidkundige Mededelingen uit he t Rijksmuseum

van Oudheden te Leiden, Nieuwe ReeksPIR 1 Prosopographia imperil Romani saec. I. II. Ill

Mil, Berolini 1897-8

PIR® Prosopographia imperil Romani saec, I. II. Illa, AufL Berolini 1933-66

PPS Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society

P Praehistorische ^eitschriftRB.N Revue Beige de .NumismatiqueRE Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen

Altertumswissenschaft, Neue Bearbeitung vonG. Wissowa, W. Kroll, K. Mittelhaus,K, Ziegler

RIB R.G. Collingwood/R.P. Wright 1965: TheRoman Inscriptions of Britain i; Inscriptions onStone, Oxford

RIG J.W.E. Pearce 1951: The Roman ImperialCoinage, ix, London

RMO Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, LeidenRN Revue NumismatiqueRNB Revue Numismatique Beige

ROB Rijksdienst voor het OudheidkundigBodemonderzoek (State Archeological Service)

TAG Tijdschrift van het Koninklijk Nederlands(ch)Aardrijkskundig Genootschap

N O O T

Het aardewerk is op schaal i : 4 afgebeeld, tenzij anders aanggeven; de profielen van het handgevormde aardewerk zijn wdie van gedraaid aardewerk zijn zwart getekend.

Unless otherwise stated, the pottery is drawn to a scale of 1the profiles of hand-made pottery are represented in white, ofwheel-made pottery in black.

Omslagtekening: Badorf-pot uit DorestadCover drawing: Badorf jug from Dorestad


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B E R I G H T E N V AN DE R I J K S D I E N S T

V O O R H E T O U D H E I D K U N D I G B O D E M O N D E R Z O E K


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Staatsuitgeverij — s-Gravenhage 1970


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Berichten van de Rijksdienst

voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek

Proceedings of the State Service

for Archeological Investigations

in the Netherlands

jaargang 19 1969


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R E D A G T I E

W.A. van Es, H. Halbertsma J.F. van RegterenAltena en W.G. Mank

Adres: Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodem-onderzoek Kleine Haag 2 Amersfoort Nederland

Grafische verzorging: Aart Verhoeven, s-Gravenhage, enH.J. Bloklander, ROB Amersfoort


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I N H O U D

Artikelen

J.A. Brongers, Ancient Old-World TrepanningInstruments 7

G. J. Verwers, The Beginning of the Late Bronze Agein the Lower Rhine Area 17

J.E. Bogaers, Cohortes Breucorum 27

W. J.T. Peters, Mural Painting Fragments Found inthe Roman Legionary Fortress at Nijmegen u 51

J.H.F. Bloemers, Ein spatromischer Goldmunzen-fund aus Obbicht, Prov. Limburg 73

P.E. van Schie-Herweijer, Solidi of Valens, Ana sta-sius, and Maurice Tiberius from Scharnegoutum,Prov. Friesland 81

J. Ypey, Zur Tragweise fruhfrankischer Giirtelgar-nituren auf Grund niederlandischer Befunde 89

W.A. van Es, Early-Medieval Hand-m ade Potteryfrom Den Burg, Texel, Prov. North Holland 129

P. Schmid, Die Siedlungskeramik von Mucking(Essex) un d Feddersen Wierde (Kr. Wesermunde) Ein Formenvergleich 135

M.U. Jones, Saxon Pottery from a Hut at Mucking,Essex; with contributions by J.N.L. Myres and

Vera I. Evison 145

Vera I. Evison, Five Anglo-Saxon Inhumatio nGraves Containing Pots at Great Ghesterford,Essex; with a contribution by J.N.L. Myres 157

S.E. West, Pagan Saxon Pottery from West Stow,Suffolk 175

W.A. van Es, Excavations at Dorestad; a Pre-preliminary Report: 1967-1968 183

W. van Zeist, Agriculture in Early-MedievalDorestad; a Preliminary Report 209

G.E. Blunt and G. van der Meer, A New Coin Typef o r O ff a 2 1

H.H. van Regteren Altena and H. Sarfatij, A Late-Medieval Site at Diernen, Prov. North Holland; withcontributions by A. Voorrips 215

H.H. van Regteren Altena and H.J. Z antkuyl, AMedieval House Site in Amsterda m; with contribu-tions by W. Groenman-van Waateringe, J P Pals,A.T. Glason, and L.H. van Wijngaarden-Bakker 233

Korte berichten

A.D. Verlinde, Three New Bell-Beakers from theNetherlands 269

L.Th. Lehm ann, Urn or Food Vessel 273

R.S. Hulst, A Bronze Age Settlement at Elst, Prov.Utrecht 275

S.L. Wynia, EinTerra-sigillata-BodenmitGemmen-

stempel aus Vechten 279R.S. Hulst and Marianne Maaskant-Kleibrink, A2nd-Century Grave with Iron Intaglio Ring fromWijchen, Prov. Gelderland 283

W.A. van Es, Another Late-Roman Gold andSilver Pin 289

E.H.P. Gordfunke, Roman and Early-MedievalPottery from Limmen, Prov. North Holland 291


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P.E. V A N S C H I E - H E R W E I J E R

Solidi of V alens, A nastasius, andMaurice Tiberius from Scharnegoutum,Prov. Friesland

figs. 1-3; pls.vii-vm

Three solidi, one a la te-Roman of Emperor Valens, andtw o Byza ntine of Em peror Anastasius and Em perorMaurice Tiberius, were found at different times in thevillage terp of Scharnegoutum, municipali ty of Wym-britseradeel. A ll three had been fashioned into coinornam ents by means of a simple loop mount 1 .

FIND C I R C U M S TA N C ES

In 1863 the solidus of Valens was found at a depth of 12feet during th e excavation of foundations for a newvicarage3. In 1863 and 1864 th e village terp w as partiallylevelled; u nfortunate ly nothing is known of any furtherterp finds m ade at the time. In 1922 Mr. A . Kam stra foundthe solidus of Maurice Tiberius w hen digging in allot-

ments situated on the levelled part of the terp3

. In 1949 o nthe same part of the terp, again in the allotments, Mr. L.Pieterson turned up the solidus of Anastasius4.

T HE T E R P

The con struc tion of a very deep cellar for a new elem en-tary school in 1951 provided Mr. H. Ha lber tsma ( R O B )with th e opportunity of carrying out an examination ofthe base of the terp. It transp ired that the terp h ad beenerected upo n a hu m us clay deposit, which in tu rn restedupon solid peat. The settlement seems to have originatedafter the peat had become covered with silt5. It is still not

possible to determine when the site was first occupied. Theterp presum ably dates from the beginning of the Romanperiod, a dating supported by evidence in the documen-tation of the R O B , to the effect that th e oldest sherds fromthe terp belong to the beginning of the is t century. Santem a speaks of sherds of the m ost ancient type of tpottery', which were found in the terp between 1914 and

D E S C R I P T I O N

i Solidus of Valens1 (pi. vn : i )Struck at A ries, first period (25 February 364-24 August367) j 4'35 g; 22 mm ln d iameter; worn; loop mount.O b v. D N VA L E N SPFAVG , bust to the right, pearl dia-

demed, draped, and cuirassed.Rev. R E S T I T V TO R R E I P V B L I C A E , emperor standingfacing, head to the right, labarum in right hand, victoriaon globe held in left hand, palm-branch on shaft olabarum.In E x . iK O N S A T .Leeuwarden, Fries Museum, inv. no. 333.

The gold loop is four-ribbed and cylindrical, 5 m m wi4 mm long; traces of use ; top edge of solidus slightlclipped by loop mount. A special feature i s that th e effigyhangs crooked on the obverse and straight on the reverseA s a ru le when coins were worn as jewellery the prefere

1 I would like to express m y most sincere thanks to Mr. G.Elzinga, curator of the depar tmen t of archeology, Fries M useum ,Leeuwarden , Mr. H. Halbertsma, curator o f the Fries Mari t imeMuseum, Sneek , Mr. O. Santema of L eeuwarden , and Mr. P.S t u a r t , Rijksmuseum. of Antiquities, Leiden, fo r their kindness inputting the coins and the ring at my disposal.2 Verslag FG 1864-5, '3 1 ; E>irks 1865, 444, pi.xvi: 2; Pleyte1877, i, 79; Santema 1936, 5-6.

3 Santema 1936, 6 ; Halbertsma ig66a; ig66b; ig66c, 32.4 Halbert sma ig66a ; ig66b; ig66c, 32.5 Halbertsm a 1955, 97-8.6 San tema 1936, 6.7 Pearce 1951, 61, no . i ( c ) ; Verslag FG 1864-5, 131; Dirk1865, pi. xvi: 2; Boeles 1951, 502, no. 2 (erroneously attributeto Constantinople); Van Es 1960, 98 and 123, n. 45 (correctlattributed to Aries).

Bodemonderzoek 6


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F. E . VAN S C H I E - H E R W E I J E R / Solidi of V alens, Anastasius, an d Maurice Tiberius from Scharnegoutuni

F i g . i Situation of Deersum, S charnegoutuni, Uitwellingerga,an d W ieuwerd:

1 Middelzee2 Provincial boun daries

was to show the emperor's bust on the obverse and tomount the loop in such a way that the obverse hungstraight 8 .

2 Sol idus of Anastasius9 (pi. vn: 2)Struck at Constantinople, officina mark F dating 498—518; 4.57 g; 20 mm in diameter ; slightly worn ; loopmount.Obv. : D N A N A S TA SIVSPPAVC, bust three-quarter tothe right, plumed helmet, no ornament on helmet,cuirassed, spear in right hand, on left shoulder shield withdevice of horseman to the right spearing fallen foe.Rev. : V I C T O R I AAVCCCT, victoria looking left, long

8 See Boeles 1951,502, no. 3 and 518, no. 175. Th e solidi cited byFagerlie 1967, pl.xxi, nos. 317, 566, and 27 4 show considerabledeviation: the imperial busts ar e even upside down. There ar ealso specimens on which loops are apparently mounted atr a n d o m , namely, Boeles 1951, 515, no . 136, and Fagerlie 1967,pi. xxn, no. 458.

staff ending in Christogram in right hand, star in thefiel

In Ex.: CONOBSneek, Fries Maritime Museum.

The gold loop is five-ribbed and cylindrical, 4.4 mm wide,6 .7 mm long. The outside left rib is damaged; tracu s e . The loop is mounted over the edge of the coin, on thereverse far over the edge; distinct preference foobverse.

3 Light-weight solidus o f Maur i ce Tiberius w (pl.vn:3)Struck at Constantinople, officina mark I; dating 5

g Bellinger ig66a. 7, n. jc = Wroth 1908, no. 2 = 1 9 1 2 — 4 , no. 3 = Rat io 1930, no . 316, bu t with no ornamhelmet ; cf. Fagerlie 1967, 64, no. 663, pi . xn; Boeles i g sno. 27; Werner 1935, log, no. 8.10 Bellinger ig66a , 2 2 9 , no. 7 i = Tolstoi 1 9 1 2 — 4 , noHermitage no . 3454; Leuthold 1960, 151-2, nos. 26-32;Ratto 1930, no . 1004.

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P. E . VAN S C H I E - H E R W E I J E R / Solidi of Valens, Anastasius, an d Maurice Tiberius from Scharnegoutum

Fig. 2 Cadastral map of Scharnegoutum, indicat ing the findspots and the boundaries of the terp (drawn i n consultation withMr. G. Elzinga, Le e u w a r d e n ) :

1 Find spot of the coins of Maurice Tiberius an d A nastasius2 Elem entary school3 Vicarage, find spot of the coin of Valens4 Still existing part of the village terp5 Levelled part of the terp (allotments).

6 0 2 ; 4 .07 g; 2 1 - 2 2 mm i n diameter; very worn; cleartrace of loop.Obv.: ( D N ( D ) AV R I C [ T l b J PPAVC, bust facing frontwith p lum ed helm et, cuirassed, circular ornam ent onfront of helm et, pendilia, globe surmounted with cross inright hand, pa ludamen tum draped over left shoulder, star

degenerated to a dot in the right field.Re v. : ( ) A AV C C I , victoria standing facingfront, long staff ending in Christogram, in right hand,surmounted by cross in left hand , star degenerated to adot in the right field.I n E x . : C O N O B .Leeuwarden, O . Santema Collection.

I I D oppelfeld 1960, 93-4.

The gold loop was five-ribbed and probably cylindrical,5 m m wide. Two triangular wafered marks resemblincountermarks punched into the reverse. Right under, a

circular punch-mark is visible. This specimen also shows adistinct preference for the obverse.

D I S C U S S I O N

A ll three solidi come from th e same place, namely, th evillage terp of Scharnegou tum , mu n. W ymbritseradeMoreover, they were all found, albeit at different times,close together in the same part of the terp: in the centralarea near th e church . The find circumstances are suchthat th e coins probably belonged to a hoard that hadescaped notice an d been scattered when th e terp waslevelled. Absolute proof of this attractive hypothesis obviously difficult to produce, and many relevanquestions will the refore remain unanswered. The size ofthe ho ard is, for exam ple, not k now n; in view of the wtime intervals between th e three finds and the size an dcom position of othe r Frisian hoards dating from tearly Middle Ages, it is very possible that it containedmore coins. Similarly, very little can be said about th ecomposition of the hoard. Late-Roman an d Byzantinesolidi do not occur together in comparable Frisian hoardsCertain parallels can be put forward, however: the find ofa necklace with eight solidi, consisting of six late-Romand two Byza ntine coins, from a Prankish wom an s grave

found under th e choir of the D om in Cologne11

, and thefind at Hon in Norway, which consisted of one rare solidusof Valens (not described in R I C ) struck at Thessalonica,on e light-weight solidus of Mau rice Tiberius struc k atMarseilles, an d nineteen coins an d pseudo-coins of thegth century 12 . The most recent of the three solidi, thatof Maurice Tiberius, could provide a terminus post quernfor th e hoard. There is , however, absolutely no reason tobelieve that this piece is itself the closing coin of the complex. Moreover, the solidus of Maurice Tiberius is themost wo rn of the three and even intentionally retoucheThus th e hoard m ust have been buried som e considerabtime after 602. The form of the loop mount supports thi

conclusion.That th e solidi from Scharnegoutum ha d been made intopendants does not distinguish them in any way from otherFrisian coin finds of this period; more than half of allsolidi found in Friesland have loop mounts. This practice,favoured especially on the borders of the empire, cameinto fashion in Friesland when acquaintance was ma d e

12 Skaare 1966, Ta f . 18: i.

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P.E. VAN S C H I E - H E RW E I J E R / Solidi of Valens, Anastasius, a nd Maurice Tiberius from Scharnegoutum

Fig. 3 Punch-m arks, scale 5: ia Solidus of Ma urice Tiberius (wafered) ; b Ring fromWieuwerd (harched).

with late 5th and 6th-century bracteates from Scandi-navia. The simple loop shown by the Scharnegoutumsolidi is characteristic in Friesland of the late 6th andearly 7 th centuries. The hoa rd of W ieuwerd in particu larled to this dating 13 .A special relationship should also be noted between thefind at S charnegoutum a nd that at W ieuwerd : on e of the

tw o magical rings from the Wieuwerd hoard, which musthave been buried in about 625, also shows triangularpunch-marks similar to, but not identical with thoseon the light-weight solidus of Maurice Tiberius fromScharnegoutum (fig. 3)14 . The appearance of such punch-marks seems to be a unique phenomenon on Byzantinecoins of this period. These marks cannot be compared tothe diamond-shaped ones on Byzantine coins fromScandinavia, where th e marks were intentionally placedon the em perors effigy fo r political reasons15 . Neither ca nthey be assaymarks fo r they are too superficial, but theymight be the ma r k of the owner or the goldsmith whointended to melt down this very worn piece to ma k e

jewellery. In any case the punch itself is intentionallyshaped to create an ornament16 . The marks are probablyornamental and may have a magical significance inview of the fact th at they are placed equid istantly oneither side of the head of the victoria. In addition to this,one should also remember the magical character of themarks in the Wieuwerd ring, (pi. vm: 4), as has beenpointed out by Janssen and Zadoks.The occurrence of similar punch-marks on a find from aneighbouring terp makes it practically certain thatsuitable punches were among the implements of a localgoldsmith.There is nothing extraordinary in encountering threesuch solidi among late-Roman and early-medieval coin

13 Lafaurie, Jansen/Zadoks 1961, 104-5.14 Lafaurie, Jansen/Z adoks 1961, 100 (j), pi. vi:j.15 Fagerlie 1967, 145-6.16 Salin 1935, 156, fig. 359 1; cf. Werner 1935, 95 , Taf. 2 1 : 2 6 .17 Boeles 1951, 500-25.18 Werner 1935 and 1961.19 VanEs 1967, 547.

finds and hoards from Friesland, which, with onetion, contain gold coins only 17 . The number of coins Frisian hoards and finds, totalling about 108, is larsuch a small area com pared w ith the 300 coins fromand west Germany 18 . The solidi from Scharnegmust have reached Friesland at different periodalong routes that cannot be traced with certaintsolidus of V alens (364-8) fits perfectly into the patterlate-Roman imports. A stream of solidi and muthe emperors Valentinianus i and Valens reacheborders of the Roman empire at the end of century, especially after the battle of Adrianople As is well known, the late-Roman emperors tried tprotection for the imperial frontiers from barbainvasion by paying large sums of money to loc tains. In the northern provinces of the Netherl

exam ple, a relatively large num ber of gold piecesfound as opposed to the diminishing nu m ber of cosilver coins, which w ere used fo r trading and for sopay, respectively19.The Frisian terp region also shared in this prospeshown by the solidus of Valens from Scharnegoutuone other (struck at Antioch) which was found twith a solidus o f Gratianus in i8892 0. In the B eilenin Drente, buried c . 400, of the tw enty-two solidi fivof Valens, of which two were struck at Trier, oLyons, one at Rome , and one at Antioch 81 . In theDortmund hoard , out of 446 solidi 46 were of ValenLa te -Roman solidi did not circulate in the bor der r

first and foremost as money, but were prized fointrinsic valu e and as represe nting solid capitawere often m elted down and refashioned into necnecklaces, and bracelets. Jewellery and coins a found buried together, as at Beilen and Dortmunfinds, as at Rhenen, Olst, and Nijmegen, conjewellery only2 3. Just as in the period following, coinfrequently used to make coin ornaments.To judge from the distribution of these solidi anlate-Roman export goods, such as fibulae, pottglass, the stream of exports in th is period left the empSalian territory and reached the northern provincth e land routes through Gelderland, OverijsselDrente 24 . The route travelled by the Anastasius

2 0 Boeles 1951, 502, nos. i and 3; for the other late-emperors: nos. 3-12.2 1 W aterbolk, Glasbergen/Zadoks ig55 and ig56.22 Regling 1908.2 3 W aterbolk, Glasbergen/Zadoks 1955; Catalogue FE S nos. 77-9.24 Van Es 1965-6, 65 ,


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P. E . VA N S C H I E - H E R W E I J E R / Solidi of V alens, A nastasius, and Maurice Tiberius from Scharnegoutu

from Constantinople to Friesland cannot be identified2 5.Four possible routes may be considered. The first, that thecoin went a roundabout way via Scandinavia. In the

period between Valentinianus in (425-45) and Anastasius(491-518), the exp ort of gold coins into western Eu ropewas interrupted 2 . The break also affected Friesland;archeological finds from the period are scanty. But achange took place in about 550 when F riesland bega n toplay a large role in what had become an important regionaround the Nor th S ea2 7. In the foregoing period Scandi-navia had grown exceedingly rich through trade andcontact with the Ostrogoths, and through them withByzantium. Wi th th e fall of the Ostrogoth empire inabout 550, this source of wealth dried up; failing directcontact with Byzantium2 8, the Scandinavians were forcedto shift their attention to the west. In these n ew contactsthe S candinavians natu rally drew upon their store ofsolidi acq uired in m ore prosperous times. The coin findsat M idlum , and the stray solidi of Leo i (457 -74 ) , ofJulius Nepos (474-6)2 9, and of Basiliscus and Ma rcus(476-7) found in FYiesland can be explained by theseScandinavian contacts. The sam e can apply to the solidusof A nastasius. 47 solidi of Anastasius struck in Constan-tinople have been found in Scandinavia. In 1898 aspecimen identical with th e Scharnegoutum solidus w asfound in a field at Tanglings. Etelhem sn. , in Gotland 80 .On the other hand, solidi o f A nastasius from th e imperialmints could just as easily have reached th e west via thecentral-European land rou te and along the Rhine, or viaItaly, the Alpine passes, and the Rhine. It was indeedunder A nastasius that th e stream of gold coins once againbegan to flow strongly to the west. In Germ any at N ieder-selters (prov. Hessen-Nassau, Kr. L imburg) a woman sgrave was found to contain a mint-condition specimenwith loop mount from officina B and also an Ostrogothsolidus of Theodoric (493-5 2 6), struck in the name of

25 A second specimen from the same officina J 1 was found inFriesland: Boeles 1951, 504, no. 2 7.26 Fagerlie 1967, 167.27 Lafaurie, Jansen/Zadok s 1961, 104; Lewis 1958, u s f f .

2 8 According to Fagerlie this situation was brought about byserious unrest in Scandinavia. Werner and Zadoks-JosephusJitta, on the other hand, attribute th e failure to maintaincontact with Byzantium to Slav and Avar invasions in centralEurope.2 g Zadoks 1957.30 Fagerlie 1967, 64, no. 663.31 Werner 1935, 88-9, 109 (M 8).32 For the various t rade routes of this period, see: Lafaurie

Justinus i (518-27)S1. An other possibility was a third routto the north, brought into use c . 575, v ia Marseilles, thRhone, the Saone, and the Meuse, this in view of the fac

that solidi of A nastasius remained in circulation for a lotime. In Gaul itself im perial coins were me lted down bylocal mints.Finally, the sea route along the coasts of France, B elgiand the Netherlands in the 6th century cannot be ex-cluded 32 .

The light-weight solidus of Maurice Tiberius (582 -60struck at Constantinople undou btedly reached Frieslavia Marseilles as part of the stream of Merovingian coinScandinavia can no longer be considered a source ofsupply, for its im ports of Byzantine coins ceased after thfall of the O strogoth empire. The route via north Italycut off by the invasion of the Lombards, whereby the olroute along the Rhine also fell into disuse. From 575 580 the route along the Rhone, Saone and Meuse maintained contact with Friesland and the north, which in themean t ime had become a region of some im portance. Thesouth Gaulish ports of Marseilles an d Aries began toflourish as trading centres and mints. The hoard atEscharen in N orth Brabant reflects th e rise of cities at thnorthern end of the route, such cities a s Hu y, Maastrichand Nijmegen. The old Rhine route did not come bacinto use until 640. The Escharen hoard, deposited c . 600which so clearly illustrates th e connection with souGaul, included 2 imperial solidi of Maurice Tiberius, botmarkedly light weight 33 . However, no. 5 can only beidentified as a special light-weight emission by the star inthe right field on the reverse34.Other solidi of Maurice Tiberius have been foundFriesland. An imperial solidus in the Wieuwerd hoard 35

another imperial light weight (struck at the officine A atConstantinople) from Friesland 36 and similar to the

1959-60; Lafaurie, Jansen/Zadoks 1961, 104-5; Lewis 195C a t a l o g u e FES 1960.33 Lafaurie 1959-60, nos. 4 and 5, 3.81 and 4.10 g., respectively; officinae H and i.

34 This particular type of light-weight solidi were firsrecognized by E. and E. Leuthold.35 Boeles 1951, 510, no. 78.36 Boeles 1951, 5og, no. 7 3, not recognized as a light-weisolidus. The find spot of this piece has not been preciseldetermined, but it is certain that it was found in Friesland. ThQuaestius C ollection, Fries Museum , L eeuwarden, contains onsolidus of A nastasius and one of Maurice Tiberius, both strucat Constantinople (Zadoks ig6oa, 9). It is not certain whethethese coins were found in Friesland.


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P. E . VAN S C H I E - H E R W E I J E R / Solidi of Valens, Anastasius, and Maurice Tiberius from Scharnegoutum

specimen from Scharnegoutum, and a third, a pseudo-im perial light-weight solidus from Uitwellingerga, whichis pub lished in the appendix. The latte r find m akes it

very clear once more that many roads in the 6th andearly 7 th century led to Friesland and particula rly towhat was formerly the Middle Sea. The Middle Sea hadundergone considerable expansion in the late-Romantransgression phase between c . 2 59 an d 600, and itsshores have yielded strong concentrations of coin findsfrom th e early medieval period.

A P P E N D I X : P S E U D O - I M P E R I A L S O L I D U S O F M A U R I C ET I B E R I U S F R O M U I T W E L L I N G E R G A , M U N . W Y M B R I T -S E R A D E E L , F R I E S L A N D 37 pi. VIII: 8 ).

Find C i rcumstances

The solidus was found in about 1943 in the verge of theroad at Zuideinde, Uitwellingerga, mun. Wyrnbritsera-deel, probably in terp soil brou ght from elsewhere. Duringthe-Second World W ar local farmers wen t to fetch thisfertile terp soil from th e vicinity of Scharnegoutum an dDeersum 38 .

DescriptionSolidus in the name of Maurice Tiberius (582-602) ,struck at Marseilles (c . 6 0 1 ) ; 4.03 g; 2 1 m m i n d iameter;only- very slightly worn ; loop m ount, four-ribb ed,cylindrical, 4 .7 mm wide, 2 .36 m m long.Obv.: D N CD AV CR PPA VC , bust w ith diadem to theright, in pa ludamentum.

R e v. : V I C T O R I AAVCC/CONOB\, forked crossof cross on one step, whereundcr a globe; the foflanked on the left by M , on the right by A ; the glo

f lanked on the left b y X , on the right by X I ;

surrouby a single wreath w hich terminates on top in a postb o w .

Private collection

Co nsultation of Rigold s artic le, the chron ology latherein m ake s it possible to date this solidus exabelongs to the second series39, which was prointroduced by Marseilles to counteract imitationsfirst series that had been issued by mints in the vicThe bust and profile revert to a type that had beedisuse for two centuries. The hair style and diademindicate a re turn to early-Theodosian types. The rev

remains faithful to the cross an d globe on the first sThere is no exerg ue; the wreath terminates aboveof 'posthorn' bow. xxi indicates the weight in Rsiliquae (2 1 sil. = 3 .91 g ) . MA is the mint signatuMassilia. O n the evide nce of die-iden tity the revebe related to a specimen dated to 600 from the hoaSarre (K en t) , which con sisted of 4 solidi attachenecklace (Rigold 5940) . This solidus has already related to Rigold 6o 41 , a solidus in the British Mand dated to 6 0 2 . The Uitwellingerga reverse wsingle wrea th and 'posthorn' bo w falls precisely betthe reverse of no. 59 with its double w reath and thano. 60 with its single wreath and somewhat more lotied bow, and can thus be dated to c . 601.

37 I wou ld like to thank the owner for his permission to publishthe coin; in this connection I am indebted to Mr. G. Elzinga,Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, and Mr. M. Nau ta , Sneek, fo rtheir efforts on my behalf.

38 Information provided by Mr. G. Elzinga.39 Rigold 1954, 113-6.40 Rigold 1954, 127, pi. vm : 59 .41 Rigold 1954, 127, p l .vm:6o.


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P.E. VAN S C H I E - H E R W E I J E R / Solidi of Valens, Anastasius, and Maurice Tiberius from Scharnegoutum

R E F E R E N C E S

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Bellinger, A.R., ig66b: The Helmet of Maurice, Museum Notes12 , 106-7.

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Fagerlie, J.M., 1 9 6 7 : La te Roman and Byzantine Solidi found inSweden and Denmark, New York (Numismatic Notes and Mono-graphs, 157) .

Halbertsma, H., 1 9 5 5 : Enkele Oudheidkundige aantekeningenover het ontstaan en de toeslijking van de Middelzee, TAG 72,93^ I0 5-

Halbertsma, H., ig66a: Sneeker Nieuwsblad 2 1 March and 25April.

Halbertsma, H., ig66b: Scharnegoutum, gem. Wymbritse ra-deel, NKNOB .̂

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Pleyte, W., 1 8 7 7 : Nederlandsche oudheden van de vroegste tijden tot oKare l d en Groote: Friesland, Leiden.

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het Fries Museum, n, JMP 47, 7-10.Zadoks-Josephus Jitta, A.N., ig6ob: Midlum (Fr.) 1 9 2 5 , JMP47, 94-6.

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P. E . V A N S C H I E H E R W E I J E R / Solidi of V alens A nas tas iusand Maurice Tiberius from Scharnegoutu

i Valens Anastasius 3 Maurice Tiberius enlargements

P LATE V II


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P. E . V A N S C H I E H E R W E I J E R / Solidi o f Valens A nastas iusan d Maurice Tiberius f rom Scharnegoutum

4 Ring f rom W ieuwerd; 5 V alens; 6 A nastasius: 7 MauriceTiberius; 8 Pseudo-imperial Maurice Tiberius f rom Uitwel-l ingerga; the r in g enlarged th e coins in original size

solidi of valens, anastasius and maurice tiberius from scharnegoutum, prov. friesland / p.e. van...

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