In recent years, there have been significant increases in the number of publications concerning the coins unearthed during archaeological excavations in Anatolia. Every publication is important for the light it sheds on the economic history of ancient Anatolia, but this importance varies according to the duration of the excavations. Longer-term excavations with supporting stratigraphic studies make numismatic documents more meaningful. Among excavations carried out in Anatolia, the place and importance of Sardis (which has been excavated since 1910) is particularly significant, not least because it has more than one monograph devoted to numismatic finds. The first publication on the coins from the Sardis excavations dates to 1916, and covers the coins found during the excavations carried out by H. C. Butler on behalf of Princeton University in 1910–14 (H. W. Bell, Sardis XI: Coins, Part I: 1910–1914). The coins recovered during the early years of the excavations initiated by Harvard and Cornell Universities in 1958 were subject to two important publications: G. E. Bates, Byzantine Coins (1971) and T. V. Buttrey and others, Greek, Roman, and Islamic Coins from Sardis (1981). Volume 13 of the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis monograph series, prepared by Jane DeRose Evans, is a continuation of the last two monographs, and concerns more than 8,000 coins unearthed by excavations conducted by Crawford H. Greenewalt (1976–2007) and Nicholas Cahill (2008–2013).
After editorial prefaces by Andrew Ramage and Cahill and summaries in English and Turkish, ch. 1 presents a brief introduction to the monograph and points out E.'s methodology of recording coins and the overall aims of the book, as well as defining the terms used. Ch. 2 is titled ‘Excavation Coins as Evidence of the Economy and Trade’, and is divided into seven chronological parts. In this section, E. concentrates on the economic and commercial life of the ancient city in the light of the numismatic evidence, especially the Sardian coins found in the excavations. Due to their frequent discovery in excavations, she focuses on copper-alloy coins, and evaluates the excavation finds within the determined chronological time frame. As well as discussing whether the coins uncovered in the excavations were discarded or accidentally lost, E. also considers the dating of the Sardis mints. In the section devoted to the Hellenistic bronze coins, the chronology of the successors’ bronze coinages is revisited and new datings are proposed.
In ch. 3, ‘Archaeological Contexts of Note’, an evaluation is made of the character of the historical documentation created by the archaeological contexts of the coins excavated in Sardis. This section focuses on the non-economic contexts of the coins as well as their historical significance. In this comprehensive and impressive section, the coins are considered as primary deposits, or secondary or tertiary deposits, and are examined either as singular objects or as group deposits, depending on the character of the finds. This point of view also makes the editors’ words more meaningful: ‘E. thus comes to this study wearing two hats: as an experienced field archaeologist and excavation director with long experience dealing with the complexities of archaeological stratigraphy’ (ix). These chapters are followed by four appendices: countermarks, monograms, reverse types of late Roman bronzes, and statistical formulae, supplemented by a concordance between the catalogue and field numbers from the excavations. The nineteen high-quality plates contain illustrations of 118 coins, eleven maps and fourteen graphs.
After the historical and archaeological interpretations, the catalogue of the coins found in the Sardis excavations is divided into three main parts: Lydian through Roman (seventh century b.c.–a.d. 330), including 1,199 coins, Late Roman (a.d. 324–491), including 6,832 coins, and Byzantine (a.d. 491–c. 1250), including 595 coins. For each coin, axis, diameter and weight are given, and both denomination and bibliographic references are given (usually BMC, RPC or RIC). Although E. adds some comments under each coin type where necessary, it is noteworthy that some bibliographical references are missing. For example, for the bronzes with Macedonian shield on obverse attributed to Sardis (123, nos 11.1–3), or a Pergamene coin (129, no. 65), relevant recent publications have not been referred to, with resulting confusion over dating. Moreover, as L. Robert pointed out in Monnaies antiques en Troade (1966), 105, the catalogue of coins uncovered in an excavation can be rendered scientifically more meaningful by following a geographical distribution scheme based on proximity to the city concerned, rather than (e.g.) a distribution based on Strabo's Geography. In other words, the catalogue ought first to classify coins minted by the excavated city, followed by civic coins of the same region, then coins from neighbouring regions and finally cities from more remote areas. In this way, the meaning of the information-rich maps that E. gives in the last part of her book could have been increased (Figs 2.6–2.9, 2.14–2.18). In fact, in preparing these maps, E. usefully decided to include all the coins found between 1958 and 2013, in order to gain the best possible understanding of foreign coins at Sardis. The inclusion on the maps of all the findings of a 55-year-old excavation renders them highly important for our understanding of Sardis’ history, enabling us easily to monitor the city's exchanges with other cities in the immediate region and wider Mediterranean basin.
In conclusion, E. ought to be congratulated for bringing together more than 8,000 coins and for examining the deposits and isolated finds in both their historical and archaeological contexts. Her monograph will hold a very important place among publications of coins found in excavations in Anatolia.
