COINS AND IMPERIAL HEADS. THE MEMORY OF ROME IN THE LATE AVAR AGE

The presence of Roman coins in burial assemblages dated to the Late Avar period (ca. AD 680 to ca. 820) has long been noted, but no explanation was offered for the ‘recycling’ of those artefacts of Roman origin. The paper shifts the emphasis away from the idea that the coins were accidentally found during digging in Roman ruins, and draws attention to the symbolism of the coins, while taking into account the social and cultural context. 4th-c. emperors captured the imagination of Avars because of the relative standardization of the imperial portrait. If turned into pieces of jewellery (pendants), coins are typically found in female burials, along with melonseed-shaped beads. However, there are also cases of coins kept in monetary form, and usually found along with other trinkets in pouches deposited in male or child burials. The obverse of the Roman coins inspired the production of belt. Such belt fittings have been found in high-status male burials and suggest that the imperial portrait conveyed the idea of empire in general or framed local representations of political power. In the 8th c., the Avars remembered Rome, but not in the manner of a linear and continuous transmission of objects and ideas. Instead, they were interested in imperial Rome, particularly the age during which the imperial power was projected most conspicuously on coins. Unlike the earlier age (6th to 7th c.), those collecting and curating Roman coins during the Late Avar age also imitated and reproduced images of power found on those coins, typically on belt fittings associated with male dress.