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The Apadana hoard is a hoard of coins that were discovered under the stone boxes containing the foundation tablets of the
File:CYPRUS, Lapethos. Late 6th-early 5th century BC. AR Stater – Double Siglos.jpg, Coin type of the
The Apadana hoard is a hoard of coins that were discovered under the stone boxes containing the foundation tablets of the Apadana Palace
Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and a ...
in Persepolis
Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...
. The coins were discovered in excavations in 1933 by Erich Schmidt, in two deposits, each deposit under the two deposition boxes that were found. The deposition of this hoard, which was visibly part of the foundation ritual of the Apadana, is dated to circa 515 BCE.
Foundation tablets
The gold and silver tablets retrieved from the stone boxes contained a trilingual inscription byDarius
Darius may refer to:
Persian royalty
;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire
* Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC)
* Darius II (423 to 404 BC)
* Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC)
;Crown princes
* Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...
in Old Persian
Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as (I ...
, Elamite
Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Scythic, Median, Amardian, Anshanian and Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was recorded in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite i ...
and Akkadian, which describes his Empire in broad geographical terms, and is known as the DPh inscription:
Foundation hoard
The coins found in the hoard were: * Northeastern deposit: Four gold lightweightCroeseid
The Croeseid, anciently ''Kroiseioi stateres'', was a type of coin, either in gold or silver, which was minted in Sardis by the king of Lydia Croesus (561–546 Before Christ, BC) from around 550 BC. Croesus is credited with issuing the first true ...
s (Sardis
Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...
mint), a tetradrachm
The tetradrachm () was a large silver coin that originated in Ancient Greece. It was nominally equivalent to four drachmae. Over time the tetradrachm effectively became the standard coin of the Antiquity, spreading well beyond the borders of the ...
of Abdera, a stater of Aegina
Aegina (; ; ) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the mythological hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king.
...
.
* Southeastern deposit: Four gold lightweight Croeseid
The Croeseid, anciently ''Kroiseioi stateres'', was a type of coin, either in gold or silver, which was minted in Sardis by the king of Lydia Croesus (561–546 Before Christ, BC) from around 550 BC. Croesus is credited with issuing the first true ...
s (Sardis
Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...
mint), three double-sigloi
The Achaemenid Empire issued coins from 520 BC–450 BC to 330 BC. The Persian daric was the first gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the siglos (from , , '' shékel'') represented the first bimetallic monetary standard.Michael A ...
from Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
(one attributed to Lapethus
__NOTOC__
Lapathus, also recorded as Lapethus, Lepethis, and Lapithus, was an ancient Cypriot, Phoenician and Greek town near present-day Lampousa and Karavas.
Name
Due to lack of evidence, researchers had not been sure whether the Phoenici ...
, one to Paphos
Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: #Old Paphos, Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and #New Paphos, New Paphos. It i ...
, and one to an uncertain mint).
The Croesids were found in very fresh condition, confirming that they had been recently minted under Achaemenid rule. The deposit did not have any Daric
The daric was a gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the siglos, represented the bimetallic monetary standard of the Achaemenid Empire.Michael Alram"DARIC" ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', December 15, 1994, last updated November 17, 2011 ...
s and Sigloi
The Achaemenid Empire issued coins from 520 BC–450 BC to 330 BC. The Persian daric was the first gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the siglos (from , , '' shékel'') represented the first bimetallic monetary standard.Michael A ...
, which also suggests strongly that these coins typical of Achaemenid coinage
The Achaemenid Empire issued coins from 520 BC–450 BC to 330 BC. The Persian daric was the first gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the siglos (from , , '' shékel'') represented the first bimetallic monetary standard.Michael A ...
only started to be minted later, after 515 BCE.
Symbolism
According to numismatist Martin Price, the coins in the hoard were probably selected not for the location they represented, but for the symbolic significance of their type. The lion attacking the bull in the Lycian coinage of theCroeseid
The Croeseid, anciently ''Kroiseioi stateres'', was a type of coin, either in gold or silver, which was minted in Sardis by the king of Lydia Croesus (561–546 Before Christ, BC) from around 550 BC. Croesus is credited with issuing the first true ...
s had obvious symbolism for the Achaemenids, the griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...
on the coin of Abdera may have been used as the symbolic guardian of gold, and the turtle of the coin from Aegina
Aegina (; ; ) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the mythological hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king.
...
may have been chosen as a symbol of maritime power.
Other coin types of the Apadana hoard
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
double Siglos from Lapethus
__NOTOC__
Lapathus, also recorded as Lapethus, Lepethis, and Lapithus, was an ancient Cypriot, Phoenician and Greek town near present-day Lampousa and Karavas.
Name
Due to lack of evidence, researchers had not been sure whether the Phoenici ...
found later near the hoard. Late 6th-early 5th century BCE
File:CYPRUS, Uncertain. Late 6th-early 5th centuries BC. AR Stater (25.5mm, 10.28 g).jpg, Coin similar to the type of a Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
coin from an uncertain mint, found in the hoard. 5th century BCE
See also
*Ancient Greek coinage
The history of ancient Greek coinage can be divided (along with most other Greek art forms) into four periods: the Archaic, the Classical, the Hellenistic and the Roman. The Archaic period extends from the introduction of coinage to the Greek ...
*Achaemenid coinage
The Achaemenid Empire issued coins from 520 BC–450 BC to 330 BC. The Persian daric was the first gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the siglos (from , , '' shékel'') represented the first bimetallic monetary standard.Michael A ...
*Kabul hoard
The Kabul hoard, also called the Chaman Hazouri, Chaman Hazouri or Tchamani-i Hazouri hoard, is a coin hoard discovered in the vicinity of Kabul, Afghanistan in 1933. The collection contained numerous Achaemenid coins as well as many Greek coins f ...
* Ghazzat hoard
References
{{reflist Archaeology of the Achaemenid Empire Treasure troves of classical antiquity Archaeological discoveries in Iran 1933 in Iran 1933 archaeological discoveries