Coins from Thracian and Lower Moesian Mints from the Viminacium Necropolis of Pećine

Abstract

During the extensive archaeological rescue excavations of the southern necropoles at Viminacium, at one of them, Pećine, 17 coins were found from provincial issues of Thracian mints, issued by eight mints, and two pieces from Moesia Inferior, originating from one mint. Out of a total of 19 pieces, 11 were found in graves, and the others in the layers of the necropolis.

Heavy Miliarensis of Constantius II from the Eastern Necropolis of Remesiana

“…The analyses of coins from the necropoles of Viminacium have yielded the following results: in the Pećine necropolis, 19.13% of the explored graves contained coins, 16 while this percentage was 33.74% in the Više grobalja (Several Cemeteries) necropolis, 17 and that is one of the highest percentages of graves with coins in such analyses in the territory of the Roman Empire that have been published so far. 18 The very percentage of graves where coins were present is an indication of the fact that the inclusion of "Charon's obol" was not a mandatory part of the funerary ritual, or even particularly common. The analysis of the position of coins discovered in graves in relation to the skeletal remains, shows that the custom of including "Charon's obol" was actually quite rare compared with the accepted opinion in the professional public.…”