Coins and contacts

Abstract

During the excavations conducted from 1996 and 2005 in the Southern part of the sanctuary of Tas-Silġ, 29 coins were recovered. Twenty-eight are ancient coins and one is a British halfpenny of 1863 attesting to the last period of foreign rule before Malta gained its independence in 1964. The series of ancient specimens consists of bronze coins and includes 19 Punic, four Greek (catalogue nos 10-11, Syracuse; no. 23, Messana, Mamertines, and no. 24 Catana) and five uncertain coins (nos 4-5, 22, 25 and 28). Many of the coins are badly corroded due to the condition of the soil, but at least in some instances probably also due to the action of fire. Yet, thanks to careful restoration and examination of the originals 23 specimens could be identified. For the remaining five coins we have to content ourselves with time spans ranging up to two centuries. Although the legible coins represent a modest number, along with the 111 specimens collected during the excavations of the Missione Archeologica ltaliana in 1963-1970 in the northern part of the sanctuary (Table 7: 5), they form the most important group of Hellenistic site finds ever assembled from a site in Malta. These materials together constitute a substantial coin series and play a key role in assessing not only the history of the sanctuary, but of the island in general.