Key research themes
1. How do coin hoards and single finds illuminate the circulation, production, and socio-political context of early medieval coinage?
This research area focuses on the analysis of coin hoards and isolated coin finds from early medieval contexts, exploring their composition, provenance, minting authorities, and archaeological contexts to reconstruct monetary circulation patterns, political influence, and economic conditions during the early medieval period. Understanding hoard composition and deposition sheds light on trade routes, territorial control, and the role of coinage as both currency and symbolic capital.
2. What iconographic and typological evidence on early medieval coins reveals about political authority, cultural identity, and cross-cultural interactions?
This theme investigates the imagery, legends, inscriptions, and typologies utilized on early medieval coinage to understand how rulers projected legitimacy, how cultural and religious identities were expressed, and the ways coin design indicates interactions with neighboring cultures or traditions. Particular attention is given to portraiture, heraldic symbols, imitations, and religious iconography on coins and associated jewelry items.
3. How do non-coin metallic materials and fragmented artifacts contribute to understanding monetary practices and material culture in late antique to early medieval economies?
This research area explores the role of base metal fragments, scrap metal (hackbronze), and other non-coin metallic artifacts in monetary and economic contexts of late antiquity and early medieval periods. Rather than viewing such materials solely as recycling waste, recent scholarship considers them as integral to social constructions of value, transitional phases in monetization, and expressions of economic complexity and decline.