Coin circulation on ancient sites can be successfully reconstructed only by disclosing and publishing fresh numismatic finds from archaeological excavations. That said, this imposing and fundamental work by Simone Boccardi provides a substantial set of numismatic data that sheds new light on Pietrabbondante, a well-known site in the province of Isernia (Molise, Italy). First occupied by the Pentri, a tribe of the ancient Italic Samnite people, Pietrabbondante is mostly famous for its sanctuary complex. Boccardi’s work therefore helps us to better understand not only the site’s coin circulation but also its complex archaeological phases.[1]
In particular, Boccardi has collected several sets of finds coming from a long-standing series of excavations from 1959 to 2019, including some up-to-date reports of the most recent investigations (see, for instance, the Addenda on 2021–2022). The timespan is therefore expansive and covers several areas of the site. In terms of the dating of the site itself, the numismatic record ranges from the fifth century BCE to the fourth century CE.
This paperback volume has been printed in a large format (24×34 cm), which makes the consultation of the substantial indices and coin plates especially easy. Pietrabbondante is for the most part organized according to the major areas and monuments of the site. This organizational approach, which can be considered ‘topographical’, is certainly functional in arranging all numismatic materials properly.
The volume begins with a short foreword (Premessa) written by Adriano La Regina, the archaeologist who has been investigating the site over the past decades. It contains information on the numismatic record (previously published) and new data on the Oscan toponym Sifinim. Boccardi then provides a concise introduction primarily focused on any potential problems that may have occurred while performing his numismatic research on such a complex site and his new insights gained from the data provided (although 1,920 specimens have already been studied and published). In terms of contents, this introduction is too brief. One might have expected a detailed section on the methodological approach deployed for tracing, studying, assessing and organizing all numismatic data, which are substantial. Moreover, an overall outline of the volume’s structure and rationale is lacking.
On the other hand, the bibliographical section (pp. xvii–xxxiii) is fully up to date, including references to coin catalogues, corpora and numismatic reports of Italian sites extending from the fifth century BCE to the fourth century CE. Overall, the rest of the volume is divided into three major sections: the presentation of numismatic data (Chapters 1–6, pp. 1–91), the coin catalogue (pp. 94–246) and the appendices, including tables and schemes (pp. 249–87).
Each chapter in the first main section focuses on a specific excavation area or monument in Pietrabbondante. Analysis of the coin record is supported by several helpful graphs and charts of statistical numismatic data.
Chapter I discusses the coin circulation in the main area of the site, showing a series of important data for the Republican and Imperial phases of the sanctuary. There are also some modern coins (see, for instance, cat. n. 211), which testify to the occupation of or at least interest in the site in the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries. Boccardi also discusses an interesting Roman republican hoard containing some silver legionary denarii along with some bronze specimens, including one issued by Sextus Pompeius in Sicily (pp. 10–12).
In the eastern area of Temple B, some buildings were discovered and partially explored in the nineteenth century (Chapter II). As a result, information about the findspots or the archaeological contexts of any coins found then are now lost. The area is, however, essential for the late Roman imperial phases of frequentation.
The southern terrace is more promising, especially for the numismatic finds discovered in the area of the square and the domus publica (Chapter III). Both republican and imperial specimens, which are also attested in the domus publica, were discovered in the so-called ‘construction area’, which includes the furnaces and a lime kiln. Boccardi provides a detailed analysis of the coin distribution in this building especially in rooms 9–10 and 17, an area potentially dedicated to the local mystery cult of Sabatius, practised between the late third and mid-fourth century CE.
Coin circulation in the eastern sanctuary is discussed in Chapter IV. In particular, some finds could be related to a foundation deposit of the aerarium (fourth to third century BCE), which includes a series of coins from several Italian cities. Some late Roman coins were discovered in the area of the so-called ‘grey tuff sacella’.
What do we know about coin circulation in the entire site? Chapter VI comprises an overall analysis of the evidence, which benefits from the data presented in the previous section. First, the small quantity of illegible coins (41/1920 specimens) accounts for the detail of the substantial numismatic record. Second, regarding the Samnite phase of the site, specimens prove a high concentration of coins circulating mostly in the second half of fourth century and the early third century BCE. Boccardi links the increase in the late third century BCE specimens to Hannibal’s war against Rome. It is also interesting to note the impact of the Italic War on coin circulation at the site which determined the introduction of new coins in the site (p. 82). Nevertheless, most of the finds are related to the long Roman imperial phases of Pietrabbondante (approximately 980 specimens). On the whole, coin circulation does not show pronounced ‘surprises’, because it follows the conventional evolution of Roman coin reforms (e.g. those of Augustus and Diocletian, the latter long preceded by the introduction of the antoninianus). Moreover, during the late third century CE, the sestertius was the most widespread coin circulating in the area (78.7%). This chapter ends with a brief reference to the fifth-century specimens attested in the area. Nevertheless, one would have expected an additional, concluding section to contextualize Pietrabbondante with the wider coin circulation of the Roman Empire (or at least within the Italian peninsula or simply comparing the site with other similar contexts to find discrepancies or points of contact).
The coin catalogue (pp. 94–246) forms the most substantial and impressive section of this volume. All 1,920 specimens have been organized by site and sub-site, reflecting the structure of the main body of the text. In terms of methodology, it was necessary to opt for such organization, given the fragmentary nature of the numismatic record, which was assembled from different and sometimes discontinuous excavations. For instance, the first coins reported in the catalogue are relevant to the sites of the area labelled as ‘Theatre – Temple B’. Each catalogue section lists all coins in typological order: pre-Roman (Greek and Magna Graecia), republican, imperial and modern age. Each coin series entry includes the following data: authority, material, dating, obverse and reverse description, and bibliography. Individual specimens are numbered and described with material, weight, module/diameter, die axis, date of discovery, additional information (e.g. legends) on the obverse and reverse and bibliography (if different from the previous general entry). The author benefited from a variety of catalogues and coin reports to identify and classify the coins (e.g., Crawford’s Roman Republican Coinage). Not all coins are unpublished: for instance, several specimens had been studied by Maria José Strazzulla in 1978.[2] Overall, the catalogue appears to be a very detailed tool that can be easily consulted to trace all coins quickly.
The volume ends with a series of substantial appendices. The first (pp. 249–85) offers several tables on coin finds divided by excavation area; it is therefore useful for extrapolating data for any potential studies on the spatial distribution of numismatic finds. The second appendix (p. 287) reports other Roman-Campanian finds in the ancient region of Samnium; it is certainly useful, but it should have been supported by a map showing all the sites. There are also two indices listing the minting authorities and the nominal values (pp. 291–96). Another short section includes ten plans and maps of the site and the archaeological excavations that have taken place in Pietrabbondante. The last major section comprises 101 black-and-white plates, of which Plates I–III show pictures of a bronze capsella and some views of the excavation sites. All the remaining plates (IV–CI) contain coins, which are organized by site. Unfortunately, the pictures are in black and white. Nevertheless, the high quality and resolution make each coin perfectly readable (including types and legends).
In conclusion, despite the few defects or omissions discussed above, Boccardi’s Pietrabbondante is an exceptionally valuable work for several reasons. It is a fundamental work for better understanding the coin circulation at the sanctuary of Pietrabbondante and the adjacent buildings, a site which played an essential role in central and southern ancient Italy. It offers a stunningly substantial numismatic record that has been collected, analyzed and assessed as a single data set for the first time. Boccardi’s volume can be profitably used by archaeologists and numismatists who are interested in studying coin circulation in other major sites of ancient Italy.
Notes
[1] On the site of Pietrabbondante, see in particular A. La Regina, Pietrabbondante. Ricerche archeologiche 2006. Rapporto preliminare (Rome, 2006) and A. La Regina (ed.), Archeologia a Pietrabbondante. Fasi edilizie, oggetti di culto, materiali. Archeologia Italica e romana 1 (Rome, 2022). Several works have already been published on the local coin circulation: E. Gabrici, “Pietrabbondante. Ripostiglio di monete di bronzo antiche, della Campania, proveniente dal territorio di Bovianum Vetus”, Notizie degli Scavi 6 (1920), 645–56; S. Boccardi, “Un deposito votivo dal santuario di Pietrabbondante (IS)”, Annali dell’Istituto Italiano di Numismatica 65 (2019), 27–66; S. Boccardi, “Evidenze numismatiche dalla domus pubblica”, in A. La Regina (ed.), Archeologia (above), pp. 271–88.
[2] M. J. Strazzulla, “Reperti monetali dagli scavi del santuario sannitico di Pietrabbondante”, Annali dell’Istituto Italiano di Numismatica 20 (1973), 33–99 and M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (Cambridge, 1974).