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Key research themes
1. How do artistic iconographies and animal symbolism on Roman Republican coins reflect socio-political values and religious beliefs?
This theme investigates the symbolic use of animal motifs and iconography in Roman Republican numismatics, revealing insights into Roman social structures, political aspirations, and religious ideologies. Animal depictions such as horses, wolves, and elephants represent complex interrelations between aristocratic status, divine favor, and Rome's self-identity during the Republic. Understanding these iconographies provides a window into the visual language employed to communicate power, legitimacy, and cultural values on coinage.
Key finding: This study delineates the symbolic significance of horses and wolves in Republican coinage, emphasizing the horse’s dual role as a marker of elite social status and as an emblem linked to divine protectors—Castor and... Read more
Key finding: This paper uncovers that the composite reverse imagery of aurei RRC 494/5 transcends specific divine personifications, serving as a syncretic symbolic projection for hopes tied to the establishment of the Second Triumvirate.... Read more
Key finding: Through stylistic analysis of coin portraits minted by the tyrant Nikias of Cos, this paper establishes that his coin iconography deliberately paralleled Marc Antony’s portraits. This method signals a strategic visual... Read more
2. What methodologies are currently evolving for the analytical and technological study of Roman Republican coins and their archaeological contexts?
This line of research focuses on the incorporation of advanced technologies—such as computer vision, curated image datasets, precise archaeological recording, and non-destructive spectroscopy—in the study of Roman Republican numismatics. It underscores methodological challenges and innovations in authentication, typological classification, provenance attribution, and distribution analysis, enhancing interpretative accuracy and digital database management of numismatic materials.
Key finding: This paper introduces the first carefully curated image dataset of Roman Imperial denarii designed for rigorous testing of computer vision algorithms applied to numismatics, addressing methodological gaps in automated coin... Read more
Key finding: This investigation leverages integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) data from large-scale archaeological excavations to analyze spatial patterns of coin finds across multiple urban areas of ancient Gabii. The work... Read more
Key finding: Using non-destructive imaging and spectroscopic techniques, this study challenges longstanding assumptions that Sponsian coins are eighteenth-century forgeries, presenting micro-abrasion wear, soil mineral deposits, and... Read more
3. How do hoard discoveries and coin find assemblages enhance understanding of monetary circulation and socio-political dynamics in the late Republic and early Imperial transition?
This theme evaluates published coin hoards and assemblages from key geographic areas, focusing on their compositions, dating, and depositional contexts to illuminate the circulation patterns, economic connections, and political transformations during Rome's shift from Republic to Empire. Such studies reveal insights into monetary usage by different communities, including non-Roman groups, and reflect responses to broader historical crises or administrative changes.
Key finding: This work examines the Arcalia hoard, documenting its discovery via metal-detecting coupled with archaeological excavation, highlighting best practices in recovery and contextualization. The hoard’s composition reveals the... Read more
Key finding: By reevaluating a small assemblage of Republican and Imperial denarii, this paper argues these coins likely belonged to a hoard rather than representing stray finds, with stratigraphic and contextual evidence situating the... Read more
Key finding: The paper presents a comprehensive summary of Thracian coinages from Archaic through Hellenistic periods, emphasizing hoard evidence to trace monetary circulation and socio-political developments including Achaemenid... Read more