Archaeologists have discovered 737 Roman coins at three sites in western Hungary, including issues depicting emperors, deities and the deification of a dead ruler.
The finds span several centuries of Roman history and are accompanied by pottery, brooches and other objects offering new evidence of everyday life in the region.
The discoveries were made during community archaeology projects organised by the Rippl-Rónai Museum in Somogy County.
Researchers have been investigating archaeological sites across the northern and central parts of the county in recent weeks, working alongside volunteers to locate and document material associated with the area’s Roman past.
Across three separate locations, the teams recovered a total of 737 Roman coins.
Most date to the Constantinian dynasty of the fourth century AD, although the assemblage also contains substantially earlier coins issued under several Roman emperors.
The chronological range could help archaeologists investigate how the sites were occupied and used over an extended period.
Coins depict emperors and Roman gods
Among the earlier discoveries is a silver coin of Antoninus Pius, who ruled the Roman Empire from AD 138 to 161.
Researchers also identified coins issued under Severus Alexander and Aurelian.
One coin of Emperor Aurelian, who reigned from AD 270 to 275, carries an especially striking reverse design depicting the emperor holding hands with Concordia, the Roman personification and goddess of harmony and agreement.
The image formed part of the carefully controlled visual language of Roman coinage, through which emperors communicated ideas about political stability, military victory, divine favour and legitimate rule.
Coins could therefore function as much more than currency. Produced in enormous quantities and circulated throughout the empire, they carried imperial imagery and political messages into the daily lives of people thousands of kilometres from Rome.
Sol Invictus appears on coins of Probus
Several coins issued under Emperor Probus, who ruled between AD 276 and 282, are of particular interest.
Their reverse designs include representations associated with Sol Invictus, the “Unconquered Sun”, whose cult became increasingly prominent during the later Roman Empire.
Other Probus coins carry imagery connected with Pax Augusti, or the peace of the emperor.
Such designs were closely connected with the political circumstances of the third century, when Roman emperors faced repeated military conflicts, internal instability and rapid changes of ruler.
Probus himself came to power during this turbulent period and spent much of his reign campaigning against enemies on the empire’s frontiers.
The images on his coins promoted messages of victory, divine support and the restoration of imperial stability.
Coin may commemorate deified emperor
Another unusual discovery is a so-called consecration coin, believed to be associated with Emperor Claudius II, also known as Claudius Gothicus.
Claudius ruled only briefly, from AD 268 until his death in 270, but was subsequently deified.
Consecration coins were produced to commemorate deceased emperors who had officially been elevated to divine status.
Such coins provide archaeological evidence not only for economic activity but also for Roman imperial ideology and the religious traditions surrounding the emperor.
The variety of rulers represented among the Somogy discoveries demonstrates that coins remained in circulation or accumulated at the investigated sites across a considerable period.
Most of the 737 specimens, however, belong to the fourth-century Constantinian period.
Somogy was part of the Roman world
The discoveries come from a region that was once incorporated into the Roman province of Pannonia.
Roman control transformed large parts of what is now western Hungary, creating networks of settlements, roads, military installations, farms and trading centres.
Coins are among the most common archaeological indicators of activity at Roman sites, but large assemblages can provide particularly useful chronological evidence.
Patterns in the dates and denominations of coins can help researchers establish when a settlement was most intensively occupied and reveal changes in economic activity.
Because the latest finds came from three separate sites rather than a single deposit, their archaeological contexts will be important when interpreting how and why the coins accumulated.
Roman pottery and clothing fasteners also discovered
Coins were only part of the material recovered during the community archaeology programme.
Teams also found hundreds of pottery fragments.
Among them were pieces of terra sigillata, the distinctive fine red tableware widely used across the Roman Empire.
Terra sigillata was produced at specialised workshops and traded across long distances. Its forms, manufacturing centres and decorative styles are well studied, making fragments particularly valuable for dating archaeological contexts and reconstructing ancient trade connections.
Several fibulae were also recovered.
These metal brooches were used to fasten clothing and existed in numerous forms during the Roman period. Their changing styles can provide archaeologists with chronological information while also offering clues about dress and personal identity.
Another discovery was a fragment of a scale, potentially providing evidence for commercial or other activities involving the weighing of goods.
Volunteers contribute to archaeological research
The finds were made through community archaeology, in which trained volunteers work alongside museum specialists to investigate and document archaeological landscapes.
Such projects can allow researchers to examine much larger areas than would normally be possible through conventional excavation alone.
Recording the precise archaeological context of metal objects is particularly important. A coin removed without information about where it was discovered loses much of its scientific value, while systematically documented finds can be compared with pottery, buildings and other material from the same landscape.
For the Rippl-Rónai Museum, the latest investigations have produced hundreds of new objects for study.
The 737 coins — ranging from the reign of Antoninus Pius in the second century to the Constantinian dynasty of the fourth — provide a particularly detailed monetary record.
Together with the pottery, fibulae and other objects found alongside them, they offer archaeologists new evidence for the people who lived, traded and travelled through this part of Roman Pannonia more than 1,600 years ago.
Sources : Rippl-Rónai Museum
