Coin hoards and pottery bring new insights to an ancient illyrian stronghold

Past Horizons ^ | September 2012 | U of Warsaw

[SunkenCiv]

Ancient Rhizon was also a political centre for the illyrians and it was here that Teuta, Queen of the Ardiaei tribe, established her capital.

After negotiations broke down between Teuta and the Romans (who requested her to put an end to piracy in the Adriatic), the First illyrian War broke out in 229 BC. However, the illyrians could not withstand the might of Rome and the war was a short lived affair.

Not much else is known about Rhizon's place in history as hardly any documentary accounts exist which refer to it by name. Most of the archaeological evidence has come from stray finds and some small rescue excavations have produced a number of artefacts, but so far a proper chronology of the settlement has remained illusive, until recently...

As the archaeologists were digging inside the walls of a Hellenistic period house, they found an extremely large coin hoard which was contained within a ceramic vessel... 4600 bronze coins which have been dated to the 3rd century BC. The vessel was found below a burnt layer and radiocarbon dates from here have indicated that the destruction layer may be connected with the First illyrian War of 229 -230 BC.

Although there is documentary proof to place Queen Teuta as a ruler at the time of the First illyrian War, there has been a question mark hanging over the date of the rule of another illyrian monarch.

In the 19th century, English archaeologist Arthur Evans led excavations at Rhizon (before going on to discover Knossos in Crete). At the time he found a number of coins depicting the head of a man and bearing the words "King Ballaios". On the other side, there was a representation of the goddess Artemis.

[SunkenCiv]

A typical King Ballaios coin thought to be minted at Rhizon. image: Janusz Reclaw

[SunkenCiv]

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[gotribe]

“an extremely large coin hoard”

Looks like the Illyrians got the physical against rome’s expansionary fiat.

[SunkenCiv]

The example coin appears to be bronze (hence the condition after centuries underground), which currency tended to be as the Roman Empire became the largest political entity (50+ million) and economy of its time, and they understood currency better than some people do today.

[Verginius Rufus]

The article in Der Kleine Pauly by the great Geza Alfoldy (1935-2011) goes like this (rough translation) (under "Rhizon" it says to see "Risinium"):

Risinium (Risan) on the Adriatic in the bay of Kotor (Cattaro) was under the name Rhizon around 230 B.C. a base of the pirate-state of the Illyrian Ardiaioi. In 167 B.C. it accepted a Roman garrison and received exemption from taxes. Under Augustus the inhabitants were granted civic autonomy (Iulium Risinium) at least a later proves the rank of a "colonia" for the city. The settlement was in the late Republic an important commercial center in which many Italian colonists settled. In the imperial period many knights and senators originated from the civic society.

[Verginius Rufus]

Omitted a word:

after "later" should read "inscription" ("a later inscription proves the rank").

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks VR.

[1010RD]

Several interesting things about this. A queen as leader/ruler would indicate a more dynamic role for women in the ancient world than feminists let on. Also, did she resist the demand to reduce piracy because she was so economically tied to the piratical gains or were the pirates beyond her ability to control?

[Tuanedge]

There may have been very little of a dividing line between traders and pirates.

[colorado tanker]

Risan is on the Bay of Kotor, which is a fine anchorage and protected by mountains from land approach. It’s a fjord surrounded by mountains in modern day Montenegro, near Croatia.

[SunkenCiv]