Late antique coin casting moulds from Dionysias (Fayum)

The find complex of coin casting moulds from Dionysias offers a unique source for the study of local coin production in the Roman Empire. Created as a reaction to a possible economic crisis (price inflation, shortage of small change), the unofficial coin workshop of Dionysias represents an alternative to coinage in the imperial Roman mints (e.g. Alexandria). In addition to an enormous number of coin moulds, the excavations yielded significant production remains such as entire mould stacks, intact casting constructs with clay jackets, as well as casting metal remains and failed cast coins that had been disposed of with the moulds. As part of the project, these objects will be re-recorded and subjected to archaeometric investigations.

The re-inventorying of the coin casting moulds and the identification of the coins used to produce the clay impressions will narrow down the phases of activity of the Dionysian coin workshop under Constantine I (306–337) and specify the extent of the production of cast coins. The results of the archaeometric analyses will provide important insights into the production processes and the supply of clay and cast metal of the illicit workshop. The project is led by the University Caen Normandie (Dr. Pierre-Marie Guihard, Guillaume Blanchet) and the LEIZA and receives financial support from the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale (IFAO, Cairo).