NUMISMATICS THE PHENOMENON OF ROMAN REPUBLICAN COINAGE IN PRE-ROMAN DACIA. A REXAMINATION OF THE Marius Grigore Stan EVIDENCE University ‚Babeș-Bolyai’ of Cluj-Napoca
[email protected] DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14795/j.v1i4.90 ISSN 2360 – 266X Abstract: This article offers a re-examination of the phenomenon of Roman ISSN–L 2360 – 266X Republican coinage during the pre-Roman period in Carpathian region. It is argued that by compiling the evidence into a multifaceted database, new insights are gained on the explanation of the currency in pre-Roman Dacia. Furthermore, the study employs statistical methods in an interdisciplinary approach to a better pinpoint the chronological point of entry for Republican denarii into the region. Due to the absence of archaeological context in many cases, coin hoards are the main focus of data collection. Keywords: Roman republican coinage, pre-Roman Dacia, coin hoards, coin copies, trade routes INTRODUCTION he aim of the present research is to study the emergence of the Roman- type coin on the territory inhabited mostly by north Danubian Geto- TDacian tribes, generally called Dacians. The term ‘Dacians’ is used without ethnic implications and the term ‘Dacia’ refers to the Carpathian- Danubian-Pontic territory not to a state that would have included all this area. A component of the history of this territory from the period before the Roman conquest is the presence in the archaeological discovers of the Roman coins. The explanations are varied and it often happens for theories to contradict. From historical sources, it is not possible to form a clear image on Dacia: there are very few reliable sources available in order to recreate an exact structure of the Dacian society.