The Problem of the Exceptional Function of Coins as a Foundation Deposit “A Comparative Study in the light of Coin Discoveries in Egypt and the Greek and Roman Cities”

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts - Ain Shams University (Egypt)

Abstract


Did coins have an additional function other than its traditional usage as a tool in financial transactions? In fact, coins were one of the components of the foundation deposits, which were placed under or in walls of several religious and secular buildings, before or during construction.Didcoins were specifically selected for certain reasons? Are there diverse reasons, or have they been consistent reflecting a single concept?Were coins used in Egypt in the same way as the foundation deposits in the Greek and Roman cities? The scarcity of both the Greek and Roman sources, which dealt with foundation ritual on the one hand, and the foundation deposits on the other hand, has led many researchers to neglect studying the foundation deposits in general and coins as a component of these deposits in particular.Therefore, all we have is a number of limited studies, or comments scattered here and there which do not give us a full picture of the actual role of coins in this context. As for Egypt, there is still no study tracking the usage of coins through this concept, and whether it has been used in accordancewith this usage on a large or limited scale.
          Based on the above, the research aims to follow the role of coins in Egypt as foundation deposits, aiming at exploring the significance of this exceptional employment.In order to achieve this goal, the comparative approach is required to compare monetary discoveries in Greek and Roman cities with their counterparts in Egypt, particularly in relation to each of the following:
(A) Temples    (b) bases of Statues and alters    (c) Houses and doors  
(d) Ship masts   (e) bases of oblesiks

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

References
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Paus.
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