ACADMIE ROUMAINE

INSTITUT DARCHOLOGIE V. PRVAN

D A C I A
R E V U E D A R C H O L O G I E
ET DHISTOIRE ANCIENNE
NOUVELLE SRIE

LIX

2015

EDITURA ACADEMIEI ROMNE

RDACTION
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ALEXANDRU VULPE
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MARIA ALEXANDRESCU VIANU (Bucureti), ALEXANDRU AVRAM (Le Mans), DOUGLAS W.
BAILEY (San Francisco), MIHAI BRBULESCU (Cluj-Napoca), PIERRE DUPONT (Lyon), SVEND
HANSEN (Berlin), ANTHONY HARDING (Exeter), RADU HARHOIU (Bucureti), ATTILA LSZL (Iai),
SILVIA MARINESCU-BLCU (Bucureti), MONICA MRGINEANU-CRSTOIU (Bucureti), VIRGIL
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CLAUDE RAPIN (Aix-en-Provence), WOLFRAM SCHIER (Berlin), VICTOR SPINEI (Iai)
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Comit de rdaction :
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NICULESCU, CONSTANTIN C. PETOLESCU, DANIEL SPNU
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ACADMIE ROUMAINE
INSTITUT DARCHOLOGIE V. PRVAN

DACIA LIX, 2015

REVUE DARCHOLOGIE ET DHISTOIRE ANCIENNE
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND ANCIENT HISTORY
ZEITSCHRIFT FR AR CHOLOGIE UND GES CHICHT E DES AL TERTUM S
X
SOMMAIRE
CONTENTS
I N H A L T

TUDES
MONICA MRGINEANU CRSTOIU, De larchitecture hellenistique de Callatis: une expression originale du style
ionique ...
STELUA GRAMATICU, On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period .
GEORGE CUPCEA, Careers in the guard of the Dacian Governor
FELIX MARCU, GEORGE CUPCEA, Recent developments in the fort of Bologa and on the northwestern Dacian
limes ..
ROBERT GINDELE, Die rmerzeitlichen Barbarensiedlungen von Livada/Ciuperceni Photovoltaik-Anlage GPSP
Solaris und Supuru de Sus Togul lui Cosmi. Neue Angaben bezglich der rechteckigen Gruben mit gebrannten
Wnden aus dem 2.-5. n. Chr. im oberen Theiss-Becken .
DANIELA TNASE, Considerations on the archaeology of the Early Migrations Period in Banat
DANIEL-CLIN ANTON, Ethnische und chronologische Verhltnisse im Grberfeld Nr. 3 von Brateiu, Siebenbrgen
DANIELA MARCU ISTRATE, Byzantine influences in the Carpathian Basin around the turn of the millennium. The
pillared church of Alba Iulia ..

5
21
49
67

83
127
153
177

NOTES ET DISCUSSIONS
FRED C. WOUDHUIZEN, The Sea Peoples: superior on land and at the sea
ADRIAN BLESCU, VALENTIN RADU, MIHAI CONSTANTINESCU, SORIN-CRISTIAN AILINCI,
Animal exploitation in Babadag culture. Satu Nou Valea lui Voicu site (Oltina, Constana County) ..
EMILIAN TELEAGA, Die La-Tne zeitlichen Grabfunde aus Brateiu, jud. Sibiu, Rumnien. Ein Beitrag zum
Grabwesen Siebenbrgens .
ALEXANDER RUBEL, Afterlife and the living. The Arginusae trial and the omission of burying the dead ..
CORIOLAN HORAIU OPREANU, A detachment of the legio VII Gemina Felix at Porolissum. When and why?
FLORIN-GHEORGHE FODOREAN, Distances along the Roman roads in the ancient itineraries: from Britannia to
Asia. A short comparison ...
CRISTINA MUJA, ADRIAN IONI, Sexual dimorphism and general activity levels as revealed by the diaphyseal
external shape and historical evidence: case study on a medieval population from Transylvania ..
SERGEY BOCHAROV, ANDREY MASLOVSKY, AYRAT SITDIKOV, The beginning of glazed ceramics production
in the Southeast Crimea during the last quarter of the 13th century the first quarter of the 14th century
CTLIN NICOLAE POPA, Late Iron Age archaeology in Romania and the politics of the past

DACIA N.S., tome LIX, Bucarest, 2015, p. 3-388

215
227
241
277
299
311
319
329
337

PIGRAPHIE
CONSTANTIN C. PETOLESCU, Notes prosopographiques (VIII) ..
RAINER WIEGELS, Zwei gestempelte Silberbarren und ein sptantiker Goldbarren aus Crasna (Rumnien) .

363
371

COMPTES RENDUS
Ion urcanu, Antichitatea greco-roman la Nistru de Jos i n teritoriile nvecinate, Editura Cartier, Chiinu, 2014,
760 p., 238 fig. (Thibaut Castelli)
Ennio Sanzi, Iuppiter Optimus Maximus Dolichenus. Un culto orientale fra tradizione e innovazione: riflessioni
storico-religiose (I Saggi, 52), Roma, 2013, 398 p. (Florian Matei-Popescu)
Materiale i Cercetri Arheologice (serie nou), X, 2014, Bucureti, Editura Academiei Romne, 300 p. (Liana Oa)..
ABRVIATIONS .

377
378
379
383

ON THE METROLOGY OF THE CITY OF ISTROS

IN THE AUTONOMOUS PERIOD

STELUA GRAMATICU*
Keywords: weight, standard weight, Istros, Tomis, Callatis
Abstract: A lead weight was discovered during the excavations at Istros from the 1980s, on street A, in a Hellenistic
layer. It has a triangular shape and weights 220 g. In an attempt to date this weight, we ordered chronologically and
metrologically the weights known from literature. Thus, the use of different standard weights during various periods
was noticed: standard 840 g between 480/475-413/410 BC, standard 700-680g between 410-380(360/350) BC,
standard 680-600 g between 380 (360/350)-330 BC, standard 580 g between 330-300 BC, standard 480 g between
300- 255 BC, and standard 436 g between 255 BC until the beginning of the 1st century AD.
Cuvinte-cheie: pond, etalon ponderal, Histria, Tomis, Callatis
Rezumat: n cadrul spturilor arheologice din anii 1980, de la Histria a fost descoperit un pond de plumb de form
triunghiular, de 220 g, pe strada A, ntr-un strat din epoca elenistic. ncercarea de a data acest pond ne determin s
propunem o ordonare cronologic i ponderal a pondurilor cunoscute n literatura de specialitate. Astfel, se observ
folosirea urmtoarelor etaloane n anumite perioade: etalon 840 g ntre anii 480/475-413/410 a.Chr., etalon 700-680
g ntre anii 410-380 a.Chr., cu prelungire ctre 360/350 a.Chr., etalon 680-600 g ntre anii 380 (cu prelungire n
360/350 a.Chr.)-330 a.Chr., etalon 580 g ntre anii 330-300 a.Chr., etalon 480 g ntre anii 300- 255 a.Chr. i etalon
436 g ntre anii 255 a.Chr., pn la nceputul sec. I p.Chr.

The purpose of the present study is to present a lead weight discovered in the Greek city of Istros, on the
shore of the Sinoe Lake, in Dobroudja, in the 1980s (pl. 1/31). The weight was discovered during the
excavation research conducted by Maria Coja on street A1, in a Hellenistic layer. The first attempt to publish
the find belonged to Radu Ocheeanu, who even announced the title of a future article, but whose intention was
never materialized2.
The weight has a triangular shape, with a protruding edge with a triangular cross-section and a
rectangular perforation in the upper register. The preservation state is bad; the weight is very worn and oxidized,
most of it being covered by a white-grey patina. Identifying the iconographic elements was very difficult,
especially due to the fact that it has been partially destroyed since ancient times: circular rubbing of the surface
with a rough object and the repeated application of a small quadratic hallmark have left visible traces.
Pb 220 g; 82.7 83.1 85 mm (the base); the thickness of the edge varies from 6.9 to 10.6 mm.
Obv. [I]CTP[I] most likely, with the partially conserved. [A] letters below. Bust to the right side,
placed inside a protruding frame made from three parallel lines. On this side, the weight was hit
several times with a quadratic hallmark.
Rv. A sea eagle with closed wings, holding a dolphin in its claws to the right. The edge has a similar
shape, with a border made of three lines. The image is partially visible in the lower register, on the
left side, because the piece was rubbed in the circular manner with a heavy object in the right side.

The Municipal Museum of Bucharest George Severeanu Museum; stelutagramaticu@yahoo.com.

The weight is preserved in the numismatic collection of the Vasile Prvan Institute of Archaeology from Bucharest.
2
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 243 and note 9, where he affirm his intention to publish this object with Maria Coja
and Gheorghe Poenaru Bordea.
1

DACIA N.S., tome LIX, Bucarest, 2015, p. 21-47

22

Stelua Gramaticu

Taking into account the unwelcomed interventions, it is clear that the lead ingot was much heavier
in ancient times, by at least several tens of grams. Most likely, the bust on the obverse is a representation
of Hermes, with petasos, an image used very often by the city of Istros. However, the poor state of
preservation prevents a definitive identification.
Due to the low number of weights known so far, the metrology of the city of Istros has been studied
less extensively. In the following pages, we will try to provide a review of the currently published weights
as mentioned in the literature, thus offering a more coherent image of the modifications of the weight
standard used in Istros.
The earliest discovered piece (pl. 6/12) was published in 1912 by the collector R. Netzhammer3. The
weight had been discovered in 1910 in the perimeter of Istros and found its way to D.G. Ionescu,
administrator of the state fisheries from Tulcea County. The latter gave the find to Netzhammer for
publication. Later on, this piece was used by L. Ruzicka in his study dedicated to the coin issues of the
Pontic cities4 and also by C. Moisil, who attempted a review of these objects from Istros, Tomis and
Callatis5. The latter states that the piece is kept in the Numismatic Cabinet of the Library of the Romanian
Academy. The weight has a square shape, with an elongated handle. On the obverse, the emblem of the
city, a sea eagle and a dolphin to the left, is represented, and the legend OO appears. The reported weight
is 79 g and it is one eighth of a mina, according to the inscription.
The second Istrian weight (pl. 13/35) belonged to D. Butculescu and was kept by the National Museum
of Antiquities when it was published by G. Cantacuzino along with other weights from Tomis6. The lead piece
is similar to the one mentioned above, also with a square shape, but without a handle. On one face the same
sea eagle and dolphin, towards left, are represented, between the words that state the fact that the weight is
one eighth of a mina: A7 / O(). The preserved weight is 54.22 g, less than the first one.
Another weight (pl. 11/29) was discovered in 1955, during the archaeological excavations from
Tariverde (Constana County), a settlement from the rural territory of Istros. It was recovered from the
northern part of the village, in sector II, from a Hellenistic level8. This weight has a circular shape. The
emblem of the city is situated above the inscription MNA. In a good state of preservation, it weighs 472 g,
the corresponding weight of a mina, according to the inscription.
Later, in 1957, another lead weight (pl. 3/3) in a very good shape of preservation was found in Istros,
in the east part of the great wall9. Both sides display iconography. On the obverse, the bust of Hermes is
shown, with a caduceus, the ITPI inscription and TE(), representing a quarter of a mina. On the
reverse the symbol of the city is depicted alongside the inscription APA() / 10, the
function and the name of the official responsible for the issue and control of the weights. The author of the
study, C. Preda, dates the item in the first half of the 2nd century, based on the iconography of Hermes.
Another weight (pl. 2/1), different from those mentioned above, was found in Istros, in 1959, in the
western part of the city11, in an archaic level (III) dated from 570/560 BC up to the last decade of the 6th
century, when Istros was devastated by a powerful fire12. The weight is made of stone, more precisely
serpentine, and was found inside a burnt house, together with a terracotta statue and a miniature cup. Based
on pottery types, the archaeological complex was dated in 540-530 BC. The weight has a dark-green colour
and the shape of a truncated cone. It was carefully polished, with the exception of the large base, on which

Netzhammer 1912, p. 7-8, fig. 7.

Ruzicka 1917, p. 76, no. 7 and p. 83, no. 26.
5
Moisil 1957, p. 259-260, nr. 1, pl. I, 1.
6
Cantacuzino 1927-1932, p. 604, no. 3, fig. 3.
7
G. Cantacuzino believes the letters A represent a short form of the word A(), meaning the approval of
the weight by the city. However the words form is of Dorian origin, thus used only by Megarian cities such as Callatis,
and not by the Ionian ones such as Istros or Tomis. It is thus more likely that the letters belong to the name of a
magistrate.
8
Preda 1957, p. 302-305, fig. 3.
9
Preda 1958, p. 452-454.
10
is an erroneous form of H, probably as a result of the casting process, as Preda 1958,
p. 454.
11
The X sector, section XNV, archaic layer III, phase B.
12
Dimitriu, Iliescu, Comnescu 1973-1975, p. 213-214.
4

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

23

a pentagon is depicted with traces of a bust and legend in the middle. Despite the fact that the state of
preservation is very good, the item is chipped in places, making the determination of the original weight
difficult. It is most likely a mina, with a preserved weight of 813 g, however the authors who first published
it think that 837 g is a more probable number. They also considered that the weight might date from 540530 BC, when the house was destroyed13.
In the modern village of Istria (Constana County), situated at 7 km from the ancient city, another
lead weight was found in 197314 (pl. 4/7). Rectangular in shape, it has on the obverse an unidentified
protuberance probably representing the head of a goddess, and some traces of letters from the name of the
agoranomos that can be read as [..]NH[.]. On the other side, the sea eagle and the dolphin towards left
are depicted, alongside the inscription ITP / HM[I]. The weight is 315 g, half a mina.
The late Radu Ocheeanu published another four lead weights, discovered by chance in Istros, in
1980, on the plateau alongside the roads that connected the city and the fish farm15. They all belonged to a
private collection from Constana and were to be donated to the Historical and Archaeological Museum of
Constana. However, it seems that their former owner changed his plans, as two of them were later given
to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and published in a different study16 (pl. 7/15 and 8/21). Because of
this, we will deal here only with the two weights that did not make their way to the United Kingdom. One
of them (pl. 9/23) is rectangular in shape. On one side, the symbol of the city is depicted within a very
carefully drawn edge17, while on the other nothing but traces of a bust can be identified. The item is very
corroded and suffered impact damage several times, as shown by its deformations. The initial weight was
affected by this, the preserved weight weighting only 506 g. Despite the fact that there is no unit mentioned
on it, the weight is probably a mina.
The other piece (pl. 9/25) is a rectangular lead weight, severely damaged by prolonged use18. Nothing
can be read anymore and only traces of the edge can be seen. On one side, a circular perforation affected
the weight. Some traces of a graffiti, rudimentary executed, were made in a later period of time: the symbol
of an ounce in the upper left side, as a and an omicron much smaller ( ), alongside the inscription E
/ 19 (of the people, of the city) that represent its approval by the authorized personnel20. Now,
the weight has 72.06 g, a clue that it was initially used as an eighth of a mina and later reused, during the
Roman-Byzantine times, as a three ounce weight.
Until now, eight weights from the autonomous period were published in the Romanian numismatic
literature, alongside the weight described by us. Taking into account the fact that they belong to different
standards, they offer little information about the Istrian monetary system.
However, in the last decade a very important study about the Istrian weights appeared, allowing us a
clearer picture of the evolution of the metrological system21.
In 1996, an important collection of 42 weights from Istros, Tomis and Callatis were offered for sale
on the United Kingdoms collectors market. In the end, they arrived at the Antiquity Department of the
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. They will by studied by Hans Casper Meyer in a detailed catalogue,
organized by issuer, and also by their shape (square, rectangular or circular22). A total of 23 Istrian weights
are published23 in this study, including the two weights published by Radu Ocheeanu from the lot of four
mentioned above24, a sufficient number to allow us a glimpse into the Istrian metrological system.

13

Dimitriu, Iliescu, Comnescu 1973-1975, p. 214.

Preda 1980.
15
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 241-248.
16
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 52, no. 4 and p. 54-55, no. 15.
17
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 244, no. 3, pl. II.
18
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 244-245, no. 4, pl. I III.
19
The first author reads, erroneously, the inscription as E() / , but the inscription is not clearly
engraved, rather scratched on the lead surface.
20
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 245.
21
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 41-76.
22
We address our gratitude to Mr. Hans Caspar Meyer for the information and the photos that he provided.
23
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 51-56, no. 1-22; p. 58, no. 28, considered incerta, but produced also in Istros.
24
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 241-244, pl. I, no. 1 (= Meyer 2001/2003, p. 54-55, no. 15) and no. 2 (= Meyer
2001/2003, p. 52, no. 4).
14

24

Stelua Gramaticu

It was argued that there is no connection between the evolution of the monetary system of Istros and
the metrological system25, but based on this new lot of 33 weights (31 mentioned above, the one described
by us and another one, with a particular shape, with the Istros symbols, from the antiquity market), we can
in fact prove that a connection exists.
The activity of the mint of Istros was subject to important contributions in the last decades26. The
first issues were produced after the half of the 6th century BC, and comprise arrow-headed monetary signs.
Within the territory of Istros, large quantities were discovered. They were cast until the first decades of the
5th century BC, when they were replaced by cast coins of the so-called wheel type. Parallel to the minting
of wheel coins, Istros also begins minting silver coins with an average weight of 8.35 g, considered by
modern scholars either attic standard didrachmae27, or Phocaic standard drachmae28.
An important argument for the use of the attic system is the influence Athens exercised on the
northwestern coast of the Black Sea. Pericles naval expedition from the middle of the 5th century BC
brought an important number of allies for Athens, inscribed in the famous tribute list of the Attic League29.
The serpentine weight found on the plateau30 (pl. 2/1) seems to date from this period. The item was found
in a burnt house that was dated by the authors in the early 540-530s BC. However Suzana Dimitriu, in a
study dedicated to the events which took place at the end of the 6th century, inclined towards a later dating
of the destruction31. Petre Alexandrescus most recent research places the end of the last archaic layer from
the plateau quarters (NA III) around the first quarter of the 5th century32.
The massive ash layer resulted from the fire is visible in the archaeological research from all over the
city, the plateau quarters but also the Sacred Area, and the rural settlements from Tariverde and Sarinasuf.
The Romanian archaeologist had shown that this destruction is connected with the Scythian attacks that
followed Kings Darius expedition from 519/512 BC, attacks that continued for a certain period of time.
There is a possibility that the 813 g stone weight (837 g if we allow for wear and other scratches)
was created at the beginning of the period when the first silver coins were minted at Istros (480/475
423/420 BC). If its dating, together with that of the dwelling in which it was found, is confirmed to be the
end of the 6th century beginning of 5th century BC, a problem arises with the identification of the standard
initially used at Istros. If we consider the serpentinite weight to represent one mina, it would equal 100
silver drachmae, each weighting around 8.40 g. Because of this they can no longer be called Attic standard
didrachmae as Gh. Poenaru Bordea and other researchers have named them. Vasile Canarache, in his study
of Istrian silver coins, also saw those belonging to this group as drachmae33. He considered this standard
to have originated in the Greek-Asian world, and thought it was imposed on the NW Pontus region by king
Darius following his expedition34. Octavian Iliescu goes even further calling the weight a Phocaic, but
historical considerations do not support his hypothesis. Therefore, while the arguments for adopting the
Attic standard are numerous and plausible within a 6th-5th century BC context, the subject is open for debate.
A more interesting situation would have been present if we had more information about the standard used
during the previous period, for which the use of the Milesian standard has been hypothesized and when the
mint was engaged in the creation of arrowheads35.
Following a brief interlude between 423/420-413/410 BC which took place after the minting of the
first group of silver coins, suggested by the so-called decree of Clearhos36, the mint changes its standard to
the Milesian one and begins the minting of new silver emissions which we now classify under the second

25

Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 245; Babelon 1904, p. 1908.

Poenaru Bordea 1997, p. 57-6; Poenaru Bordea 2000; Poenaru Bordea 2001; Renea, Poenaru Bordea 2002.
27
Poenaru Bordea 2000, p. 10.
28
Iliescu 1997, p. 44.
29
Poenaru Bordea 2000, p. 10-11.
30
Dimitriu, Iliescu, Comnescu 1973-1975, p. 213-214.
31
Dimitriu 1964, p. 133.
32
Alexandrescu 2005, p. 93-94.
33
Canarache 1968, p. 111 and 136.
34
Canarache 1968, p. 137-138.
35
Gramaticu 2009, p. 16.
36
Poenaru Bordea 2000, p. 11-14.
26

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

25

category (410-380 BC up until 360/350 BC). Gh. Poenaru Bordea shows that the top of the weight diagram
of these drachmas stands around 6.80 g.
We could date the weight of the agoranomos H (pl. 3/3) to this period. Described and
analysed by C. Preda, it represents a quarter of a mina (172 g), where it appears that a mina is equal to 688
g37. The author dates it to the beginning of the 2nd century BC based on an iconographic criterion (the bust
of Hermes), but its weight, as well as the style of the representation, date it in an earlier period. The lot
from the Ashmolean Museum contains four weights, three of which are 1/8 of a mina (Meyer 7, 9 and 28)
(pl. 3/4-6), and one with the value of half a mina (Meyer 8)38 (pl. 2/2).
Two out of the three ingots of 1/8 of a mina are well preserved and, based on their weights, the mina
was 680 g, while one similar weight (pl. 3/6) is ruined, being preserved roughly around 43%. The latter
was published by the author as incerta, but the iconography of Hermes and the partially visible eagle from
the reverse make us think that it is an Istrian weight.
The half a mina weight (Meyer 8) (pl. 2/2) is also incomplete, with only a quarter of the initial item
being preserved39. On the obverse, we have the traces of a bust towards left, probably of the god Hermes and
the inscription HM[I]. On reverse, only a part of the symbol of the city, the eagle and the dolphin towards the
left are still visible, alongside some letters from the perhaps abbreviated name of the agoranomos: ...A (?).
It is clear that the piece was intentionally cut into four pieces, each used as a 1/8 of a mina.
In regards to the features of the weights in this period, with the exception of the item published by
C. Preda, all have on the obverse a square shape and the bust of Hermes with petasos and a caduceus,
pointing left or right, between the name of the city ITPI and the nominal weight, OO or HMI. On
reverse, the symbol of the city is depicted, with the title AOPA() and the name of the official in
charge with the verification of the weights: APITO, ..A (?) and H.
Between 380 (up to 360-350) BC - 330 BC, Istros continued to mint silver coins under the Milesian
standard, classified according to Gh. Poenaru Bordea in a third group40. Based on the hoard of Doroskoe41,
he considers the average weight of these drachms to be 6.80 g, but it seems that this standard is increasingly
difficult to respected. Moreover, most of the coins are very worn, with details barely visible, suggesting
heavy circulation. These losses may represent up to 10% of the original volume, but even so a general
tendency of not meeting the standard is visible. We can date the two half mina pieces (pl. 4/8, 5/9) from the
Ashmolean Museum, one without a handle and the other with obscure iconography, showing deviations
from the mina standard (Meyer 13, 19)42, to this period. If the obverse of the first one seems to have a head
represented on it (Meyer 13) (pl. 4/8), the second one displays a barely visible bust of Hermes towards right
(Meyer 19) (pl. 5/9). To this same period belongs the weight of half a mina, found in the modern village of
Istria, Constana County (pl. 4/7), that bears the name [..]NH[.] on obverse43. The weak shape of
preservation did not allow the identification of the bust on obverse, which appears as a prominence.
Two very used 1/4 of a mina can be added here (Meyer 11, 17)44. The first (pl. 5/10) shows the typical
iconography (Meyer 11), while the second (pl. 6/11) has the bust of Hermes on obverse and the name of
the city together with the nominal value, [TE]TAP and the name of the official, AATO, on the reverse
(Meyer 17).
The most numerous pieces are the 1/8 of a mina. One of them (pl. 6/12) is the weight published by
R. Netzhammer, and later studied by L. Ruzicka and C. Moisil45. In the lot preserved in the Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford, six lead weights can be dated in the same period (Meyer 4, 5, 6, 15, 21, 22)46. We have
a very similar piece to the one described by R. Netzhammer (pl. 6/13), with the symbol of the city above

37

Preda 1958, p. 452-454.

Meyer 2001/2003, p. 52-53 and 58.
39
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 53.
40
Poenaru Bordea 2000, p. 16.
41
Zaginailo, Nudelman 1971.
42
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 54-55.
43
Preda 1980.
44
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 53-55.
45
Netzhammer 1912, p. 7-8, fig. 7; Ruzicka 1917, p. 76, no. 7 and p. 83, no. 26; Moisil 1957, p. 259-260, no. 1, pl. I.
46
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 52, 54 and 56.
38

26

Stelua Gramaticu

the value (Meyer 6). The scholar does not illustrate the reverse, but the weight from the British collection
has a blank reverse (perhaps erased), except for the lower part on which several letters, the signs of an
unsuccessful print of an agoranomos name can be seen [..]PO?.
Two rectangular pieces, one very well preserved (Meyer 5) (pl. 7/14) and the other with the thickness
metal thinned to the point that it shows holes (Meyer 4) (pl. 7/15), showing the nominal value and the name
of the official: MNA and XAIPE47.
Another two weights of 1/8 of a mina have a triangle shape. One (pl. 7/16) is much deteriorated, with
only the symbol of the city visible (Meyer 22), while the other, with the name APITO (pl. 7/17) has a
much better shape, but is inferior in comparison with the first one (Meyer 21)48. This might have been the
result of the partial cut of the handle, as well as a perforation of the flan.
The origin of the mint of the last piece (pl. 8/21) is subject to controversy (Meyer 15)49. On obverse
we can see the bust of Hermes, with petasos, towards the left, and below the nominal inscription, but on
the reverse the sea eagle and the dolphin characteristic to Istros are missing. Radu Ocheeanu, who first
published it, states that it was found in the city of Istros, on the road adjacent to the fishing canal in the
1980s50. In Dr. George Severeanus collection, we have a very similar weight (pl. 8/22), which seems to
have been made with the same dies, but is kept in a poor condition (only 70% remaining). This piece was
published by George Cantacuzino, who, following the data of Severeanu, writes that the weight was found
in 1913, in Tomis51, and classifies it as a Tomitan weight. The reported weight had 56.16 g52. However
given the fact that only two thirds of the item survive, the original weight was more likely around 80 g. The
author assigns it to the city of Tomis.
Radu Ocheeanu re-analysed the two pieces in a later study (the one that will arrive in the Ashmolean
Museum and the one from Severeanu collection), along another one from Mina Paukers collection (79 g)53.
This last 1/8 of a mina was published by C. Moisil as a Tomitan weight. He considered this piece to have
been very similar, if not identical, to the incomplete one from Severeanus collection54. Unfortunately, the
piece was not illustrated, so we cannot investigate this claim. Consequently, Radu Ocheeanu states that all
three must belong to Istros, because one was found there and the other two are similar in style55. While we
cannot contradict entirely this hypothesis, there are elements that are not compatible with this theory: the
weight from Severeanus collection was found in Tomis and the emblem of the city does not appear on
their reverses. We do not deny that the pieces were made in Istros, where clear evidence for the presence
of a mint exists, based on the discovery of dies56. One of the moulds, used in the autonomous period, was
found inside a workshop, used to cast triangle shaped weights with an image of a tripod between the title
and the name of the officials: AO / APTEMIOPOY, APTEMIO and XAIPEOY57.
Therefore, it is not excluded that the weights were produced in the mint of Istros. However, they
were used not here, but in Tomis. In the 4th century BC, the relations between Istros and Tomis were similar
to the one between a metropolis and an emporion used for trade with the local populations58. Tomis
depended on the Milesian colony, on economic, cultural and political aspects. Despite the different opinions

47

Meyer 2001/2003, p. 52.

Meyer 2001/2003, p. 56.
49
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 54-55.
50
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 241-243, no. 1, pl. I.
51
Cantacuzino 1927-1932, p. 603, no. 2, fig. 2.
52
George Cantacuzino mentions that the the weight has 56.16 g in 1933. Later, in 1939, Dr. George Severeanu
donates his collection to the Municipal Museum of Bucharest. In the inventory register made after the Second World
War, from 1948, the weight is registered as having 53.20 g. Today, the piece weighs 50.32 g. We can explain these
differences only by the probable use of rudimentary means of weighing and / or maybe a bad restoration (excessive
cleaning). For this reason, we compared the drawing of the weight as published on the first article with the nowadays
picture. It is clear that the size was reduced because of the inappropriate restoration.
53
Ocheeanu 1997, p. 333-334, no. 1.
54
Moisil 1957, p. 283, no. 42.
55
Ocheeanu 1997, p. 334 (no photo preserved).
56
Preda 1958, p. 457-460.
57
This mould was discovered by chance, in 1956, on the plateau of Istros, cf. Preda 1958, p. 457.
58
Avram 2001, p. 541-542.
48

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

27

of some researchers concerning the political and economic position of Tomis as compared to Istros, many
common features can be noticed based on the archaeological research59. This situation seems to be the rule
until the middle of the 3rd century BC, when a war between Callatis and Byzantion starts for the control of
the small settlement from the western shore of the Black Sea. For these reasons, even though the weights
depict Hermes on the obverse, as the Istrian items do, they do not have the emblem of the city on the reverse.
A similar situation exists for the two weights discovered in Constana and published by E. Bormann
in 189160, both with Hermes bust on obverse, but without any Istrian symbols on reverse (pl. 8/18-19). They
were considered by C. Moisil Tomitan weights61, but C. Preda later tried to attribute them to Istros based
on the representation of the god of the commerce62.
A very interesting fact is that all the weights in debate, despite the uncertainty regarding their origin,
belong to the same decreasing Milesian standard and therefore to the same period. One exception might be
the used lead weight of 1/8 of a mina, from the Ashmolean Museum, with only 72.10 g (Meyer 15)63, but
the fact that it was made with the same die as the weight from the Mina Pauker and Dr. George Severeanu
collections makes us date it in the same period.
Most of the weights from this period (380/350, up to 330 BC) have a square shape, with a sometimes
cut handle, or a triangular shape. The obverse is reserved, on most of the cases, to Hermes with petasos,
pointing right or left, and the legend that indicates the city of Istros and the weight unit. There are few
exceptions, where an unidentified head is represented on the obverse, or just one side is inscribed. On the
reverse, the sea eagle and the dolphin are accompanied by the name and function of the official responsible
with the issue and checking of weights, for example [..]NH[.], AATO, [..]PO?, APITO and XAIPE.
Some of these names appear on certain coins from Istros. It would be natural to assume that the agoranomos
from the weight would be identified with the magistrate from the coin. For example, XAIPE appears on
Apollo bronze issues from the late phase, dated in the 1st century BC64, but also on a weight dated in the 4th
century BC. The identification between the two characters is excluded, due to the important chronological
distance, and we assume that it is a plain coincidence or maybe we are looking at a distant descendent.
It seems that the gradual decrease of the weight standard becomes official starting with the fourth
period of the Istrian drachm, according to Gh. Poenaru Bordea. The silver coins minted from 330 to 313
BC, the year of the rebellion of the West Pontic cities against of Lysimach (with extension to the death of
Lysimach in 281 BC), have an average of 5.8 g65. We have six weights from this period, two of them
published by Radu Ocheeanu, three part of the Ashmolean Museum and one that appeared on the antique
market. Radu Ocheeanu has published a much corroded mina, in a poor state and with a barely visible
features (pl. 9/23). The weight is only 506 g. Based on considerations of artistic style, the Romanian scholar
attributed it to the Roman period standard66. But if we account for the weight loss suffered through time, it
might be considered a Hellenistic weight.
A half a lead mina of 212.51 g from the Ashmolean Museum (pl. 9/24), offers an important clue for
the study of the metrological evolution of Istros (Meyer 18)67. On obverse, it has the bust of Hermes, with
petasos and caduceus, the nominal inscription and the abbreviated name of the magistrate, HMI HPO[N],
in an embossed frame. H. C. Meyer had argued that the reverse is completely erased, but some parts of the
image of a sea eagle and a dolphin can be noticed towards the left. The author also notices the close stylistic
resemblance between this weight and one that was considered either an Istros or Tomis product (Meyer
15), with an earlier weight standard dating from an earlier time68. Initially the weight had a triangle shape,
but the corners were at some point cut off. When compared to an unaltered triangular weight of the same

59

Buzoianu, Brbulescu 2006, p. 26 and 30.

Bormann 1891, p. 1-2, no. 1-2.
61
Moisil 1957, p. 279-280, no. 35-36, pl. 6, 3-4.
62
Preda 1958, p. 456-457.
63
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 54-55.
64
Gramaticu, Oberlnder-Trnoveanu 2003-2005, p. 27-28.
65
Poenaru Bordea 2000, p. 16.
66
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 244, no. 3, pl. II.
67
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 55.
68
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 241-243, no. 1, pl. I; Ocheeanu 1997, p. 333-334, no. 3; Meyer 2001/2003, p. 54-55.
60

28

Stelua Gramaticu

type, it becomes apparent that around 30% of its original volume has been lost. The operation was made
with the purpose of adjusting the weight to another monetary standard, lower than the initial one. After this
adjustment, the lead weight might have been used after Istros adopted the attic standard.
The other weights are each 1/8 of a mina, more or less worn, with scratches and missing parts. The
first (pl. 9/25), published by Radu Ocheeanu, was reused in the Roman-Byzantine period69. Its original
iconography was erased, only the trace of an embossed border remaining visible today. On the surface, the
symbol of the ounce , as it was used after AD 345, was scratched alongside the inscription E /
/ , that the author left unexplained. It might be read otherwise like E / / (of the people, of
the city), as a weight authorized to be used in the city70. The Ashmolean museum collection houses two
well preserved weights. One (pl. 10/27) is square in shape, with a bust of Hermes to the right, between the
inscriptions ITPI / OO on obverse, while on the reverse the sea eagle and the dolphin are depicted
together with some traces of the letters from the name of the agoranomos, which cannot be read (Meyer
3)71. The second (pl. 10/26) is triangular in shape, but a corner is missing. On obverse it has a peculiar
iconography, displaying a massive head seen from the front, which could be the head of Helios but without
the suns rays (Meyer 14)72.
The auction house Gorny & Mosch offered for sale an Istrian weight of 1/8 of a mina with a
hexagonal shape, which is unusual for the Istrian mint73 (pl. 10/28). On the obverse, standing to the left, a
figure is represented in an almost unnatural position. It was identified as Hermes by the publishers. Around
the edges, the marks of letters can be noticed, but only on the left side can they be read as ...... ANTIA,
probably the end of a word. The weight is lower than the other 1/8 of a mina, but this could be the result of
circulation. For the lead weights that belong to the fourth period of the minting of the Istrian drachms, we
notice a large variety of used shapes and images.
As for the lower chronological limit of the fourth group, it might be placed around the end of the 4th
century BC. In 313 BC, Callatis and the West Pontic cities start a rebellion against Lysimach, having the
support of the Thraco-Getic populations. It seems that Antigonos Monophtalmos was the instigator of this
action against the Thracian king. Diodorus Siculus mentions the deal made by the Greek cities, with the
purpose of mutual support in the fight (military alliance) against the Thracian ruler74. Istros was soon
defeated, while Callatis, the main instigator of the riot, was besieged for two years. Peace was established
in 311 BC, with Lysimachus accepting the cities autonomy. However the Megarian colony starts a war
against the king again, at the instigation of Ptolemeus I Soter. As a result, a second siege of Callatis begins
in 309 BC and ends several years later, perhaps in 307 BC, with the conquest of the city75. It is natural to
assume that these events affected the economic life of the town, and it is possible that, towards the end of
the 4th century BC, Istros started using a new weight system.
When looking at the items, a distinctive group stands out in terms of weight. This group, including
two pieces of one mina (pl. 11/29), seems to indicate a standard of 480 g which the Milesian colony used.
The first of the two weights was discovered in the territory of the city, at Tariverde, Constana County, and
has a weight of 472 g76. It was discovered in a Hellenistic layer, at the intersection of the first two habitation
levels77. The second (pl. 12/30), weighting only 462.56 g, is a part of the Ashmolean Museums collection
(Meyer 20)78. It has on one side the traditional features of the Istrian weight system, with a sea eagle and a
dolphin, towards right, between the inscriptions IT[PI] up and MNA below, between the abbreviated name

69

Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 244-245, no. 4, pl. I-III.

Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 245.
71
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 51.
72
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 54.
73
Gorny & Mosch Giessener Mnzhandlung, Auction 160, October 9th, 2007, no. 2854.
74
Diodor Siculus, XIX, 73, 2.
75
Pippidi, Berciu 1965, p. 217-218; Avram 2001, p. 598.
76
Preda 1957, p. 302-305, fig. 3.
77
Preda 1957, p. 302.
78
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 55-56, no. 20.
70

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

29

of the agoranomos placed between the corners79. The other side is very worn and seems to have
been left without any representation. Only several letters, whose meaning eludes the author, were scratched:
[][]80. Similar to the weight published by Radu Ocheeanu, that presents signs of reuse in the Late
Roman period81, we do not exclude the possibility that this piece was also reused in a later period, when
this inscription was added.
For this group, we have several subdivisions of the mina: lead weights of a half, a third or a quarter
of a mina. The weight of 220 g described at the beginning of this study, of half a mina, is included here (pl.
1/31). Considering its state of preservation, the wear of the representations, with a bust standing right and
the partial image of the symbol of the town, we believe that the real weight was much heavier. The lead
weight of a third of mina (pl. 12/32) is also worn (Meyer 12)82, while the quarter of mina is incomplete,
with nearly 17% missing (Meyer 16)83. The weights of this group show a great variety of forms, similar to
the preceding period, but a monotonous iconography of specific symbols of Istros.
Interestingly enough, analogies for this weight system are found in a somewhat southerly city,
Athens, for which Mabel Langs study from 1964 gives us important data84. The author had attributed
Athenian weights to several mina standards: the 105 drachm85 (457.8 g), used in the 6th and the 5th century
and also later, in the 4th and the 3rd century BC, the 112 drachm (488.32 g), and then the 126 drachm
(549.36) and later the 138 drachm (601.68 g), used in the Hellenistic period. The mina of 150 drachm was
equivalent with two Roman libra (654 g) and used in the 1st century BC86.
Radu Ocheeanu had remarked that another West Pontic city, Callatis, used a system similar to the
one from Athens, based on a mina of 112 drachm87. A mina with the weight of 463.70 g and other subunits
are known from the Megarian colony, then a part of the collection of the Antiquity Museum from Iai88.
Due to this close resemblance, the Romanian scholar thought that the piece mentioned above is the same
as Mabel Langs mina of 112 drachmae. He considered that this unit was used in the 3rd century BC while
the 126 drachm unit was used since the first half of the 2nd century BC89.
As we have mentioned earlier, the 480 g unit from Istros has analogies both at Callatis and in the
Athenian system, in the series Mabel Lang calls the 112 drachm mina90. Of significant importance are three
lead weights discovered in Athens, all of them of one mina, which were made from a similar mould. All
have a dolphin on obverse91. The first, dated around 300 BC, has a weight of 417 g and is better preserved92.
The other two have 455 and 445 g and show more wear93. They were dated in the Hellenistic period. Another
weight, with the same symbol on obverse (a dolphin), but made with another mould has 475 g and is also
dated in the Hellenistic period94. Future research will determine if the weight standard of 480 g was also
used in Tomis or the southern cities of Dionysopolis, Odessos, Mesambria and Apollonia.
It seems that this standard was used in a later period than that of the fourth group of the silver coins
of Istros (with an average of 580 g)95. We do not know if Istrian drachmae of an average of 4.80 g exist,

79

The author read , but the legend might have been misread, at least for the first part, where can be
TPI. In the lower part it might be the name of the official responsible for these objects.
80
It is possible that it has a numeric value.
81
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 244-245, no. 4, pl. I-III.
82
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 54.
83
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 55.
84
Lang, Crosby 1964.
85
The authors used an attic drachm of 4.36 g standard.
86
Lang, Crosby 1964, p. 18-21.
87
Ocheeanu, Cliante 1989, p. 122.
88
Moisil 1957, p. 264, no. 10, pl. II, 5.
89
Ocheeanu, Cliante 1989, p. 124.
90
Lang, Crosby 1964, p. 13-14.
91
Lang, Crosby 1964, p. 24.
92
Lang, Crosby 1964, p. 27, no. 12, pl. 4.
93
Lang, Crosby 1964, p. 27, nr. 13-14, pl. 4.
94
Lang, Crosby 1964, p. 27, no. 11, pl. 3.
95
Poenaru Bordea 2000, p. 16.

30

Stelua Gramaticu

10

but even if they do not, their minting would have been stopped before Istros had used this standard.
Recently, G. Talmachi claimed that the silver coins with a weight between 3 or 4 g, up to the ones with
4.50 g, considered as drachmae, might in fact represent a fifth group produced from the end of the 4th
century BC, up to 280 or at the latest 260 BC96.
As we have shown above, Istros adopted new measurement units at a date that might have been the
end of the 4th century BC, after the rebellion of the Pontic cities in 313 BC and the consequences of the
following years. This weight system will be used by Istros until the Attic system, based on a unit of 436 g
will be introduced, the beginning of which is confirmed by the first issues of Istrian staters. The local mint
starts to issue gold staters of Alexander the Great type from the middle of the 3rd century BC, according to
M.J. Price97. In the recent years, new studies have offered more details towards the dating and the
beginnings of coin series and the context in which they were issued.
Towards the middle of the 3rd century, Istros is involved in the war for the control of Tomis, alongside
Callatis98. The conflict started after 255 BC, as the latest studies show, and ended in the spring of 254 BC,
when Callatis sued for peace99. This war is a consequence of Antiochus II Theos attempt to impose the
Seleucid supremacy on the western coast of the Black Sea, causing the reaction of Ptolemy II Philadelphus.
In 255 BC, the Seleucid king concludes a series of alliances with the Greek cities or even Thracian dynasts
like Adaeus100. As a result, Byzantium, member of the Northern League101, gets involved in the war
supporting Ptolemy II. It might be assumed that the treaties of Antiochus II were associated with substantial
donations102, and these are closely connected to the first minting of staters from Istros and other cities from
the region. Recent studies have shown the sequence / succession of monetary gold series influenced by of
the historical events of the middle of the 3rd century BC103. Another significant example revealing the
alliance system Istros was part of are the staters with the monogram, first used for Alexander type coins
and, after the defeat suffered in the war against Byzantium, on Lysimachus type coins104.
Towards the middle of the 3rd century ( 255 BC), the Istros mint started using the attic system, a
fact confirmed by the four weights from our catalogue. The heaviest is a quarter of a mina, partially
conserved (around 80%), and kept in the Ashmolean Museum (Meyer 10)105 (pl. 13/34). On obverse, the
sea eagle on the dolphin stands towards left, between the nominal value TETA and the agoranomos
partially preserved name, ..HM. No engraving seems to be present on the other side, though there are traces
of the letter X whose presence we cannot explain. The other weights are 1/8 of a mina, two kept in the
Ashmollean Museum collection (Meyer 1, 2)106 (pl. 13/36-37) and one from the Butculescu collection,
published by George Cantacuzino in 1933107 (pl. 13/35). All of them are square in shape, unifacies, with
the emblem of the city between the legends and . A close resemblance between the three weights
has already been noticed by Meyer, therefore it is not excluded that they were made with the same mould.
The attic system was used by Istros until the beginning of the 1st century AD, when the Roman system
of weights was adopted. In the Istrian case we do not have any weights of a so-called transition period mina
of 378 g, as we do at Callatis108. We do not exclude the possibility that they might exist. Studies of Istrian
metrology have only just begun.

96
Talmachi 2011, p. 339, assumes the existence of a fifth group, with much lower weights, compared to the coins
from the fourth one, with an average of 6.80 g. The author dates the fourth group no later than 300 BC.
97
Price 1991, p. 180.
98
Pippidi, Berciu 1965, p. 222; Avram 2001, p. 599-601; Avram 2003, p. 1211-1212.
99
Avram 2003, p. 1211-1212.
100
Avram 2003, p. 1200-1202.
101
Avram 2003, p. 1186-1187. The Northern League consists of Greek cities from the southern Black Sea.
102
For example, Ptolemeus II Philadelphus donation towards Heracleea Pontica is mentioned by Memnon. For the
historical interpretation see Avram 2003, p. 1205-1206.
103
Petac 2010; Petac, Vlcu 2012, p. 57; Vlcu, Petac 2012, p. 25.
104
Vlcu, Petac 2012, p. 25.
105
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 53.
106
Meyer 2001/2003, p. 51.
107
Cantacuzino 1927-1932, p. 604, no. 3.
108
Moisil 1957, p. 270, nr. 18, pl. IV, 2.

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

11

31

Table 1. Chronological table of the weight standards used by the mint of Istros
I. The period 480 413/410 BC
No.109
1

Value
Mina

Weight
813 g

Dimensions110
D. up = 73.9 mm
D. low = 86.4 mm
H = 72.3 mm

Weight standard: 840 g

State of preservation
Almost good

II. From 410380 BC, up to 360/350 BC

No.

Value

Weight

Dimensions

mina

85.58 g

37.2 49.5 / 9 mm

3
4
5

mina
mina
mina

172 g
85.67 g
85.26 g

64 78 / 11 mm
53.3 43.5 / 8 mm
43.9 47.2 / 5,8 mm

mina

36.79 g

28.6 50.5 / 7.7 mm

Bibliography
Dimitriu, Iliescu, Comnescu
1973-1975, p. 214

Weight standard: Milesian (700 680 g)

State of preservation
Only 25% of the original piece is
preserved. It was cut and reused as
1/8 of a mina.
Good
Used
Good
Fragmentary, only 43% still
preserved.

III. The period 380 (or 360-350 BC) 330 BC

Bibliography
Meyer 8
Preda 1958, p. 452-454
Meyer 9
Meyer 7
Meyer 28

Weight standard: Milesian (680 600 g)

No.
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

Value
mina
mina
mina
mina
mina
mina
mina
mina

Weight
315 g
307.47 g
302.74 g
152.68 g
152.08 g
79 g
80.90 g
78.49 g

Dimensions
56 62 / 17 mm
62.2 69.4 / 12 mm
72 84 / 12 mm
65 56.6 / 6.4 mm
76 76 / 8.5 mm
28 45 mm
29.7 47 / 9.2 mm
41.2 49.4 / 6.6 mm

State of preservation
Relatively good
Used, erased
Used, erased
Used, erased
Relatively good
Good
Good
Good

15

mina

73.89 g

53.5 50 / 7.3 mm

Very used, flat, perforated

16

mina

75.13 g

49.2 43.5 / 8.5 mm

17

mina

74.85 g

43.6 56.9 / 8.3 mm

Used
Erased, with the handle cut,
with graphitti

Bibliography
Preda 1980, p. 117-119
Meyer 13
Meyer 19
Meyer 11
Meyer 17
Netzhammer 1912, p. 8
Meyer 6
Meyer 5
Meyer 4;
Ocheeanu 1992-1993,
p. 243-244, no. 2
Meyer 22
Meyer 21

Weights used by Tomis, but minted at Istros

No.

Value

Weight

Dimensions

State of preservation

18

mina

212.2 g

88 mm

Good

19

mina

161.7 g

70 75 mm

Good

20111

mina

78 g

60 mm

21

mina

72.10 g

52 52 / 7 mm

Erased

22

mina

56.16 g112

H = 51.6 mm;
Full side = 56.4 mm

Fragmentary, only
65% still preserved

Bibliography
Bormann 1891, p. 1-2, no. 1;
Moisil 1957, p. 279, no. 35
Bormann 1891, p. 2, no. 2;
Moisil 1957, p. 279-280, no. 36
Moisil 1957, p. 283, no. 42,
no illustration.
Meyer 15;
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p. 241243, no. 1;
Ocheeanu 1997, p. 333, no. 3
Cantacuzino 1927-1932, p.
603, no. 2;
Ocheeanu 1997, p. 333, no. 2

109

The number is the same as indicated on the plates.

The abbreviations used in this table are the following: D. up = diameter up, D. low = diameter low, H = height.
111
No photo preserved.
112
See footnote 47.
110

32

Stelua Gramaticu

12

IV. 330 towards 300 BC

Weight standard: 580 g

No.

Value

Weight

Dimensions

State of preservation

23

Mina

506 g

46 53.5 / 6 mm

Used, erased

24

mina

212.51 g

60.2 52.9 / 13 mm

25

mina

72.06 g

39 28 / 7 mm

26

mina

71.24 g

46.5 45.5 / 9.4 mm

27

mina

71,02 g

38.5 57.4 / 7.4 mm

28

mina

64.09 g

Without dimensions

Fragmentary, only 73%

preserved. Used, erased
and cut to serve a lower
standard.
Erased, perforated, used
also in the late Roman
period.
Missing corner, otherwise
good
Used, erased
Broken edge, otherwise
good

V. Towards 300 255 BC

Bibliography
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p.
244, no. 3
Meyer 18
Ocheeanu 1992-1993, p.
244-245, nr. 4
Meyer 14
Meyer 3
Gorny & Mosch
Giessener Mnzhandlung,
Auction 160, no. 2854

Weight standard: 480 g

No.
29
30

Value
Mina
Mina

Weight
472 g
462.56 g

Dimensions
74 / 12 14 mm
85.9 80.5 / 17 mm

31

mina

220 g

85 83.1 / 10.6 mm

32

mina

156.98 g

54.8 52.5 / 11.5 mm

33

mina

99.85 g

68 62 / 7 mm

State of preservation
Good
Used, erased
Used, erased, rubbed off
with a heavy object
Erased
Fragmentary, only
83% preserved.

VI. 255 beginning of 1st century AD

Bibliography
Preda 1957, p. 302-303
Meyer 20
Described above.
Meyer 12
Meyer 16

Weight standard: Attic (436 g)

No.

Value

Weight

Dimensions

State of preservation
Fragmentary, only 83%
preserved.

34

mina

90.73 g

48.5 47.3 / 6.9 mm

35

mina

54.22 g

H = 37 mm

Good

36
37

mina
mina

54.11 g
52.32 g

35.5 37.7 / 5,5 mm

37.9 39.7 / 7 mm

Good
Used

Bibliography
Meyer 10
Cantacuzino 1927-1931,
p. 604, nr. 3
Meyer 2
Meyer 1

13

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

33

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34

Stelua Gramaticu

14

Ruzicka 1917 L. Ruzicka, Inedita aus Moesia Inferior, NumZ 50, 1917, p. 73-173, pl. XXVII-XXX.
Renea, Poenaru Bordea 2002 E. Renea, G. Poenaru Bordea, Un important tezaur de monede de argint istriene i
tetradrahme postume Filip II, originale i imitaii fidele, in E. Nicolae (ed.), Simpozion de Numismatic dedicat
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Bucharest, 2003, p. 9-31.
Talmachi 2011 G. Talmachi, Monetriile oraelor vest-pontice Histria, Callatis i Tomis n epoc autonom, ClujNapoca, 2011.
Vlcu, Petac 2012 A. Vlcu, E. Petac, The Second Syrian War and Gold Staters of Alexander Type struck at Istros,
AJN 24, 2012, p. 21-28.
Zaginailo, Nudelman 1971 A.G. Zaginailo, A.A. Nudelman, Dorokii klad drevnegreceskih serebrianiih monet IV
veka do n.e., MASP 7, 1971, p. 122-137.

15

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

MINA

31

Pl. 1. Istrian weight, discovered 1980s (scale: 1/2 original), 480 g standard.

35

36

Stelua Gramaticu

Standard weight 840 g

MINA

Standard weight 700 680 g

MINA

Pl. 2. Istrian weights, 840 g (1) and 700-680 g (2) standards.

16

17

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

Standard weight 700 680 g
MINA

MINA

Pl. 3. Istrian weights, 700 680 g.

37

38

Stelua Gramaticu

Standard weight 680 600 g

MINA

Pl. 4. Istrian weights, 680 600 g standards.

18

19

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

MINA

10

Pl. 5. Istrian weights, 680 600 g standards.

39

40

Stelua Gramaticu

MINA

20

MINA

12

11

Pl. 6. Istrian weights, 680 600 g standards.

13

21

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

MINA

14

15

16

Pl. 7. Istrian weights, 680 600 g standards.

17

41

42

Stelua Gramaticu
1

/3 MINA

22

MINA

18

19
1

/8 MINA

21

22

Pl. 8. Weights used by Tomis, but minted at Istros, 680 600 g standard
(plates for items no. 18 and 19 scaled 4/5 original).

23

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

Standard weight 580 g

MINA

23

MINA

24

MINA

25

Pl. 9. Istrian weights, 580 g standard.

43

44

Stelua Gramaticu

MINA

26

27

28

Pl. 10. Istrian weights, 580 g standard.

24

25

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

Standard weight 480 g

MINA

29

MINA

33

Pl. 11. Istrian weights, 480 g standard.

45

46

Stelua Gramaticu

26

MINA

30

MINA

32

Pl. 12. Istrian weights, 480 g standard.

27

On the metrology of the city of Istros in the autonomous period

Standard weight 436 g
MINA

34
MINA

35

36

37

Pl. 13. Istrian weights, 436 g standard.

47

48

Stelua Gramaticu

28

ABRVIATIONS
AA Archologischer Anzeiger. Deutsches Archologisches Institut, Darmstadt, Mnchen, Tbingen
Berlin
ABSA The Annual of the British School at Athens, Athens
ActaArchCarp Acta Archaeologica Carpatica, Krakw
ActaArchHung Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Budapest
Acta Classica Acta Classica. Journal of the Classical Association of South Africa, Pretoria
ActaHistHung Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Budapest
ActaMN Acta Musei Napocensis. Muzeul Naional de Istorie a Transilvaniei, Cluj-Napoca
ActaMP Acta Musei Porolissensis. Muzeul Judeean de Istorie i Art, Zalu
ActaTS Acta Terrae Septemcastrensis. Institutul pentru Cercetarea Patrimoniului Cultural Transilvnean
n Context European, Sibiu
A LAnne pigraphique, Paris
Aegean Studies Aegean Studies. Aegeus - Society for Aegean Prehistory, Athens
AEM Archologisch-epigraphische Mitteilungen aus sterreich-Ungarn, Wien
Aevum Aevum. Rassegna di Scienze Storiche Linguistiche e Filologiche. Vita e Pensiero
Pubblicazioni dellUniversit Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Agria Agria. Az Egri Mzeum vknyve Annales Musei Agriensis. Dob Istvn Vrmzeum, Eger
AHA Acta Historiae Artium. Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Budapest
AHB The Ancient History Bulletin (digital version only: http://ancienthistorybulletin.org/)
AHR The American Historical Review, Bloomington
AIIA (Cluj-Napoca) Anuarul Institutului de Istorie i Arheologie, Cluj-Napoca
AInf Archologische Informationen, Mitteilungen zur Ur- und Frhgeschichte, Bonn
AISC Anuarul Institutului de Studii Clasice, Cluj-Napoca
AJA American Journal of Archaeology, Boston
AJN American Journal of Numismatics. American Numismatic Society, New York
AJPh American Journal of Philology, Baltimore
AM Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archologischen Instituts. Athenische Abteilung, Athen
Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Journal of the American Association
of Physical Anthropologists, (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1096-8644)
American Anthropologist American Anthropologist. Journal of the American Anthropological
Association, (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1548-1433)
American Antiquity American Antiquity. Society for American Archaeology, Washington
ANarch Archologisches Nachrichtenblatt, Berlin
AnB (S.N.) Analele Banatului (Serie Nou), Muzeul Banatului, Timioara
AnSt Anatolian Studies. British Institute at Ankara, Ankara
Antaeus Communicationes ex Instituto Archaeologico Academiae Scientiarium Hungaricae, Budapest
Anthropology Today Anthropology Today. Royal Anthropological Institute, London
Antiquity Antiquity. A Review of World Archaeology, Durham, UK
AntOr Antiguo Oriente: Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente. Pontificia
Universidad Catlica Argentina Santa Mara de los Buenos Aires
AO Arhivele Olteniei, Craiova
. Moskow Arheologicheski Otkritja, Moskva
Apulum Acta Musei Apulensis. Muzeul Naional al Unirii, Alba Iulia
ArchA5 Archaeologia Aeliana, Fifth Series. Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle
Archaeol. Rev. Camb. Archaeological Review from Cambridge. University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Archaeologia Altum castrum online. Mtys kirly Mzeum, Visegrd
Archeometriai Mhely Archeometriai Mhely a Magyar Rgszeti s Mvszettrtneti Trsulat
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ArchHung Archaeologia Hungarica, Acta Archaeologica Musei Nationalis Hungarici, Budapest

ArchKorr Archologisches Korrespondenzblatt, Mainz
ArchPolski Archeologia Polski, Wrocaw Warszawa
ArchRozhledy Archeologick Rozhledy, Praha
ArhMed Arheologia Medieval. Complexul Muzeal Bistria-Nsud, Bistria
ArhMold Arheologia Moldovei. Academia Romn, Institutul de Arheologie, Iai
ArhVestnik Arheoloki vestnik, Ljubljana
AUI Analele tiinifice ale Universitii Al. I. Cuza din Iai, Iai
Athenaeum Studi di Letteratura e Storia dellAntichita` pubblicati sotto gli auspici dellUniversit di
Pavia, Pavia
AVANS Archeologick Vyskumy a Nlezy na Slovensku, Nitra
Banatica Banatica. Muzeul Banatului Montan, Reia
BARBrSer British Archaeological Reports, International Series, Oxford
BARIntSer British Archaeological Reports, British Series, Oxford
BayVgBl Bayerische Vorgeschichtsbltter. Kommission fr bayerische Landesgeschichte bei der
Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Verbindung mit dem Bayerischen Landesamt
fr Denkmalpflege und der Archologische Staatssammlung, Mnchen
BCH Bulletin de Correspendance Hellnique, AthnesParis
B Bulletin pigraphique, Paris
BerRGK Bericht der Rmisch-Germanischen Kommission des Deutschen Archologischen Instituts,
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BIAUL Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeology (University of London), London
BIDR Bulletino dell'Istituto di Diritto Romano, Roma
BJb Bonner Jahrbcher des Rheinischen Landesmuseums in Bonn, Bonn
BMN Bibliotheca Musei Napocensis, Cluj-Napoca
Britannia Britannia. Journal of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, Cambridge
BSNAF Bulletin de la Socit nationale des antiquaires de France, Paris
BSNR Buletinul Societii Numismatice Romne, Bucureti
BUFM Beitrge zur Ur- und Frhgeschichte Mitteleuropas, Wilkau-Halau - Langenweibach
Byzantina (Thessalonic) BYZANTINA. Annual Review of the "Byzantine Research Centre",
Thessalonic
Byzantinoslavica Byzantinoslavica. Revue internationale des tudes Byzantines, Slovansk stav
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C&M Classica et Mediaevalia: Danish Journal of Philology and History, Aarhus
Caiete ARA Caiete ARA. Arhitectur, Restaurare, Arheologie. Asociaia ARA, Bucureti
CCA. Campania .. Cronica Cercetrilor Arheologice din Romnia, Bucureti
Chiron Mitteilungen der Kommission fr Alte Geschichte und Epigraphik des Deutschen
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CICSA Centrul de Istorie Comparat a Societilor Antice, Universitatea Bucureti, Bucureti
CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, Berlin
CN Cercetri Numismatice. Muzeul Naional de Istorie a Romniei, Bucureti
ComArchHung Communicationes Archaeologicae Hungariae, Budapest
CQ The Classical Quaterly, The Classical Association, Cambridge
CRAI Comptes Rendus des Sances de l'Acadmie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Paris
Crisia Crisia. Muzeului rii Criurilor, Oradea
CSCA California Studies in Classical Antiquity. University of California, Los Angeles
Current Anthropology Current Anthropology. University of California, Merced
CW Classical World. Temple University, Philadelphia
Dacia Dacia. Fouilles et recherches archologiques en Roumanie, Bucureti
Dacia N.S. Dacia (Nouvelle Srie). Revue darchologie et dhistoire ancienne. Acadmie Roumaine.
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Dolgozatok Cluj Dolgozatok az Erdlyi Nemzeti Mzeum rem- s Rgisgtrbl, Kolozsvar

Dolgozatok Szeged Dolgozatok a M. Kir. Ferencz Jzsef Tudomnyegyetem Archaeologiai Intzetbl,
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EJA European Journal of Archaeology. European Association of Archaeologists (http://e-aa.org/eja.htm)
Elbinger Jahrbuch Elbinger Jahrbuch. Zeitschrift der Elbinger Altertumsgesellschaft und der stdtischen
Sammlungen zu Elbing, Elbing (1920-1941)
EphemNap Ephemeris Napocensis. Academia Romn, Institutul de Arheologie i Istoria Artei, ClujNapoca
PRO tudes prliminaires aux religions orientales dans l'Empire romain, Leiden
tudes Celtiques tudes Celtiques, Paris
Evol Anthropol Evolutionary Anthropology. Duke University, Durham NC
FBW Fundberichte aus Baden-Wrttemburg, Stuttgart
FHDR I-II H. Mihescu, G. tefan, R. Hncu, V. Iliescu, V.C. Popescu (eds.), Fontes ad historiam
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File de Istorie File de Istorie. Muzeul Judeean Bistria-Nsud, Bistria
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FrhMitAltSt Frhmittelalterliche Studien. Jahrbuch des Instituts fr Frhmittelalterforschung der
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Germania Germania. Anzeiger der Rmisch-Germanischen Kommission des Deutschen
Archologischen Instituts, Frankfurt am Main
Glasnik SAD Glasnik Srpskog Arheolokog Drutva, Belgrad
HSozuKult Kommunikation und Fachinformation fr die Geschichtswissenschaften
(http://www.hsozkult.de/)
HambBeitrA Hamburger Beitrge zur Archologie. Universitt Hamburg, Hamburg
HCT A.W. Gomme, A. Andrewes, K.J. Dover, A Historical Commentary on Thucydides, Oxford,
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Hermes Hermes. Zeitschrift fr Klassische Philologie, Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart
Historia Historia. Zeitschrift fr Alte Geschichte, Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart
HistoriaBuc Historia, Bucureti (http://www.historia.ro/revista#)
HOM A miskolci Hermann Ott Mzeum vknyve, Miskolc
Homo HOMO. Journal of Comparative Human Biology. Australasian Society for Human Biology,
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HZ Historische Zeitschrift, Akademie Verlag GmbH, Berlin
IDR Inscripiile Daciei romane
IDRE C.C. Petolescu, Inscriptiones Daciae Romanae. Inscriptions externes concernant lhistoire de la
Dacie, I-II, Bucureti, 1996-2000
IG Inscriptiones Graecae, Berlin
IGLR E. Popescu, Inscripiile greceti i latine din secolele IVXIII descoperite n Romnia, Bucureti, 1976
Il Mar Nero Il mar nero : annali di archeologia e storia, Roma
ILD C.C. Petolescu, Inscripii Latine din Dacia, Bucureti, 2005
ILS H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae, Berlin, I (1892), II (1902), III (1916)
Int J Osteoarchaeol International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
Istros Istros, Muzeul Brilei, Brila
JAM A Jsa Andrs Mzeum vknyve, Nyregyhza
J.Archaeol.Sci Journal of Archaeological Sciences, London New York
JDAI Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archologischen Instituts, Deutsches Archologisches Institut, Berlin
JEA Journal of European Archaeology, former name of EJA
JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies, London
J. Hum. Evol. Journal of Human Evolution, Elsevier Press (http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journalof-human-evolution/)
JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies. The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago
JRA Journal of Roman Archaeology, Portsmouth, Rhode Island

386

Abrviaions

JRA SS Journal of Roman Archaeology, Supplementary Series, Portsmouth, Rhode Island

JRGZM Jahrbuch des Rmisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz, Mainz
JRS Journal of Roman Studies, London
Klio Klio. Beitrge zur Alten Geschichte, Berlin
KlnJb Klner Jahrbuch. Rmisch-Germanisches Museum Kln, Kln
Kzlemnyek Kzlemnyek az Erdlyi Nemzeti Mzeum rem-s Rgisgtrbl, Kolozsvar
Kuhn-Archiv Universitat Halle-Wittenberg. Landwirtschaftliches Institut, Martin-Luther-Universitat
Halle-Wittenberg, Landwirtschaftliches Institut, Halle
Lethes Lethes. Cadernos Culturais do Limia, Centro Cultural Popular do Limia, Ourense
LSJ H.G. Liddell, R. Scott, H.S. Jones (eds.), A Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford, Clarendon Press (9th
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Lucentum Lucentum. Universidad de Alicante, Alicante
Lumea veche Lumea Veche, Revist de umanioare, Bucureti
MAGW Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien, Wien
MAInstUngAk Mitteilungen des Archologischen Instituts der Ungarischen Akademie der
Wissenschaften, Budapest
Marisia Marisia. Muzeul Judeean Mure, Trgu Mure
MASP Materiali po Arheologii Severnogo Priernomorja, Odesa
MatArch Materiay Archeologiczne, Krakw
MatArchNovHuty Materiay Archeologiczne Nowej Huty, Nova Huta
Materialy Staroytne Materialy Starozytne i Wczesnosredniowieczne, Warszaw
MCA Materiale i cercetri arheologice. Academia Romn, Institutul de Arheologie Vasile
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MCV Mlanges de la Case Velzquez. Casa de Velzquez, Madrid
MFME A Mra Ferenc Mzeum vknyve. Mra Ferenc Mzeum, Szeged
ML R. Meiggs, D.M. Lewis, A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions to the End of the Fifth
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Mnemosyne Mnemosyne, A Journal in Classical Studies, Brill, Leiden
MSROA Materiay i Sprawozdania Rzeszowskiego Orodka Archeologicznego, Rzeszw
Mus.Afr. Museum Africum. West African Classical Association, University of Ibadan Department of
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Nor.Arch.Rev Norwegian Archaeological Review, Taylor & Francis
NumZ Numismatische Zeitschrift. sterreichische Numismatische Gesellschaft, Wien
OMNI. Revue internationale de numismatique OMNI. Revue internationale de numismatique,
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Pallas Pallas. Revue dtudes Antiques. Universit de Toulouse le Mirail, Toulouse
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PAPhS Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Society. Johns Hopkins University
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PBF Prhistorische Bronzefunde. Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz, Seminar fr
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