COINS FROM ExCAVATIONS AT THE «T-4» SECTOR IN OLbIA

In 2018, in the Terrace City of Olbia, in order to resume the search for the theater, a new excavation site «T-4» was laid (fig. 1). Director from the Ukrainian side — D. Sc. in History A. V. Buiskykh, from the German — prof. J. Fornasier. Head of the excavation sector — Ph. D in History I. M. Sheiko. Its presence is assumed due to the decrees of the Hellenistic time in honor of Callinicos (IOSPE I2 25), Anthesterion (Vinogradov 1984, p. 75), and the sons of Apollonius (НО 28), which contain the mention of the Olbian θέατρον. The search for the theater was carried out by A. N. Karasev in the late 1950s (prospecting trench to the east of excavation «E», Western Trade Row), and under the head of S. D. Kryzhytskyi in the late 1980s and early 1990s (excavations «T», «T-1», «T-2», «T-3»). These works can be united due to a small area of research and their location in different places of the Terrace City, the natural micro-relief of which suggests the construction of a theatron. The results of the research at excavations «T» and «T-1» (headed by V. V. Nazarov) were the discovery of the redeposited massifs of soil displaced from the territory of the Upper City and the slope (as a result of a landslide?), mixed with a subsoil clay. At excavation «T-2» (headed by V. I. Nazarchuk), a room of the II—III c. AD was partially discovered, most likely, of economic purposes. At excavation «T-3» (headed by V. I. Nazarchuk), a rich dwelling with a courtyard and a cistern, located along the perimeter premises, including an andron, with basements, as well as a street with a retaining wall of the terrace, were discovered. Under the floor of one of the basements, a part of a residential building of the end of the VI c. BC was revealed. In 2017, within the framework of an international Ukrainian-German project, a method of geophysical research was successfully tested 1, which made it possible to identify a new defensive system that enclosed the suburban area from the field, and numerous residential, religious and economic structures of the suburb, as well as to prove their presence by archaeological means. Moreover, the entire cup of the Terrace City was explored from the north to the south using ground-penetrating radar IDS DETECTOR DUO with dual frequency 250—700 MHz antenna (IDS Georadar s. r. l.). The exploration was carried out in fifteen bands, 40—60 m long, each of which showed the presence of abnormalities. Conventionally, these exploration bands were combined into three blocks: F1, F2, and F3. The main number of abnormalities had clear rectangular elongated outlines, which, when decrypted, were attributed as walls, mainly retaining walls of terraces. Of greatest interest are the results obtained at the bands of the F2 block, where abnormalities at the depth of 2.7—3.6 m have distinct curvatures with a bend to the west, which presumably resembles the contours of a theatron, which con-

In 2018, in the Terrace City of Olbia, in order to resume the search for the theater, a new excavation site «T-4» was laid ( fig. 1). Director from the Ukrainian side -D. Sc. in History A. V. Buiskykh, from the German -prof. J. Fornasier. Head of the excavation sector -Ph. D in History I. M. Sheiko. Its presence is assumed due to the decrees of the Hellenistic time in honor of Callinicos (IOSPE I 2 25), Anthesterion (Vinogradov 1984, p. 75), and the sons of Apollonius (НО 28), which contain the mention of the Olbian θέατρον.
The search for the theater was carried out by A. N. Karasev in the late 1950s (prospecting trench to the east of excavation «E», Western Trade Row), and under the head of S. D. Kryzhytskyi in the late 1980s and early 1990s (excavations «T», «T-1», «T-2», «T-3»). These works can be united due to a small area of research and their location in different places of the Terrace City, the natural micro-relief of which suggests the construction of a theatron.
The results of the research at excavations «T» and «T-1» (headed by V. V. Nazarov) were the discovery of the redeposited massifs of soil displaced from the territory of the Upper City and the slope (as a result of a landslide?), mixed with a subsoil clay. At excavation «T-2» (headed by V. I. Nazarchuk), a room of the II-III c. AD was partially discovered, most likely, of economic purposes. At excavation «T-3» (headed by V. I. Nazarchuk), a rich dwelling with a courtyard and a cistern, located along the perimeter premises, including an andron, with basements, as well as a street with a retaining wall of the terrace, were discovered. Under the floor of one of the basements, a part of a residential building of the end of the VI c. BC was revealed.
In 2017, within the framework of an international Ukrainian-German project, a method of geophysical research was successfully tested 1 , which made it possible to identify a new defensive system that enclosed the suburban area from the field, and numerous residential, religious and economic structures of the suburb, as well as to prove their presence by archaeological means.
Moreover, the entire cup of the Terrace City was explored from the north to the south using ground-penetrating radar IDS DETECTOR DUO with dual frequency 250-700 MHz antenna (IDS Georadar s. r. l.). The exploration was carried out in fifteen bands, 40-60 m long, each of which showed the presence of abnormalities. Conventionally, these exploration bands were combined into three blocks: F1, F2, and F3. The main number of abnormalities had clear rectangular elongated outlines, which, when decrypted, were attributed as walls, mainly retaining walls of terraces.
Of greatest interest are the results obtained at the bands of the F2 block, where abnormalities at the depth of 2.7-3.6 m have distinct curvatures with a bend to the west, which presumably resembles the contours of a theatron, which con- sisted of sectors with the seats of the ancient theatre. In this place, to check these anomalies, it was decided to lay a search excavation, named according to the tradition, like all similar excavation attempts to find the theatre in the Terrace City, «T-4». Due to the terraced location of the site, the archaeological material found in the cultural strata of the slope is often mixed. The excavation area is currently 60 m 2 . The depth from the level of the modern day surface from the western side is 4.5 m. The stratigraphy of the «T-4» site includes five strata: the upper humus layer, the yellowashy layer, the gray-ashy layer, and the gray-ashy layer with yellow-clay inclusions ( fig. 2). The depth of the layers has significant differences towards the southern part of the excavation.
Excavations at the «T-4» sector over three seasons of research have provided abundant numismatic material, which is published in this article. The total number of coins found is 154. Among them, 34 coins cannot be precisely defined due to poor preservation. The Appendix includes the most decent coins in the amount of 91 items. Half of the found coins are casted dolphin-shaped coins -77 items.   Kozlenko, R. O., Sheiko, I. M., Reuter, A. Coins from the Excavations at the «T-4» Site in Olbia Archaic and Classical periods. Researchers are unison in opinions about the appearance of dolphin-shaped coins -from the second half of the VI c. BC (зограф 1951, с. 121-124; Харко 1964, с. 321-323; Карышковский 1988, с. 34-35; Анохин 1989, с. 8-9), however, views on the duration of their usage as monetary items vary from the V c. BC (Карышковский 1988, с. 37; золотарьов 1997, с. 143) until the middle of the IV c. BC (зограф 1951, с. 124; Харко 1964, с. 323), and until the end of this century (Анохин 1989, с. 10).
In 2018-2019 at the western side of the excavation sector «T-4» ( fig. 3), in quadrat No. 226, in a gray-ashy layer overlapped by a yellow clay adobe massif, among small and medium limestone quarries and collapses of pottery, an accumulation of bronze finds was revealed: dolphin-shaped coins in the amount of 26 items (fig. 3: 8-10, 17-26; 4: 27, 39-42), fragments of fibulae, and five arrowheads. A total of 48 items were recorded.
The period of wide distribution of dolphinshaped coins falls on the V c. BC, which finds confirmation in the form of dating the material found along with this accumulation of coins, namely: Protothasos, Thasos, Chios, Lesbos and Knid amphorae, black-glazed Attic dishes, as well as bronze three-bladed arrowheads that are dated by the V-IV c. BC.
It should be noted that fragments of mosaic floors made of multi-colored pebbles found in the filling of this building at the level of the bottom of its northern masonry make it possible to consider the investigated part of this room, in which a hoard of dolphin-shaped coins was found, as a separate closed complex in this area.
The coin of the city of Byzantium found at the «T-4» site is dated by the same time. Its obverse depicts the front part of a bull on a dolphin, and on the reverse -a tripod between two dolphins ( fig. 7: 62). It is dated by 387-340 BC 2 . (SNG IX: 14-20). About the trade relations between Olbia and Byzantium in the IV c. BC is evidenced by the Olbian inscription in honor of the Byzantine citizen Deloptych, the son of Meniscus, to whom the Olbian citizens granted a proxeny, the right of citizenship, and exemption from duties on all goods (НО 9). The Byzantium coin, located on the European coast of the Bosphorus, can be attributed to a rare numismatic find in Olbia, which confirms the existence of economic contacts between these cities. In addition to the dolphin-shaped coins, which appear in Olbia and its associated territory in unbelievably high quantities, there is another genus of Olbian monetary objects, which already attract attention through their sheer quantity. These are strikingly small, low-weight coins made of copper or copper alloy, which often weigh less than one gram and reach a length diameter of approx. 0.8 cm. It is important to differentiate between  Together with their larger counterparts, which also show the goddess of agriculture on the obverse, while the reverse shows the symbol of an eagle with a dolphin in its claws, a picture which is significant for Olbia, the early small coins with Demeter as well as the ear of corn and dolphin, initiate a change within the Olbian monetary system (Reuter 2021, s. 12). While all objects of Olbian origin with monetary function had previously been created by casting, which included both the so-called dolphin-shaped or fish-shaped money and the large and small asses (Anokhin 2011, p. 30-43), their successors of the IV c. BC are continuously minted. The only exception to this is the series of large asses with a goddess en face, probably Demeter on the obverse and an eagle with a dolphin on the reverse, which, after a long BC (Anokhin 2011, p. 46-53, fig. 233-243).
In addition, the pictorial programme also changes in comparison to the V c. BC, although with the constant reference to the dolphin there is at least one constant. However, if the dolphin appears very prominently in the form of the dolphin-shaped money, it now plays a much smaller role be it already on the big asses or later on the minted copper coins of the IV c. BC, now appearing only on the reverse of the individual coin series, whether it is in the claws of a sea eagle or, as on the small coins, accompanied by an ear of corn or a single grain.
Remarkable within the new pictorial programme of copper coins of the IV c. BC, which includes both the small currency and the somewhat larger and heavier coin series, is the turning towards Demeter as the most prominent deity on the obverse sides as well as the clear reference to their sphere of influence, here however limited to the small coins, in the form of ears of grain. Possibly this can be explained by the revival of the Olbian Chora and the accompanying revival of the agricultural sector in about the same period, which was one of the most significant economic factors in Olbia during the entire IV c. BC (Kryzhitsky et. al. 1989, p. 96-152;Fornasier 2016, s. 103-105), which was promoted, among other things, by Athens' enormous demand for grain: since Attica was not able to supply its entire population with sufficient grain through its own agricultural sector, Athens was dependent on imports, which it obtained mainly from the Northern Black Sea region (Braund 2007, p. 51-64;Moreno 2007, p. 69). This also affected Olbia, which obviously benefited economically from the Athens' need for grain and now resumed its own grain production after a longer hiatus during the V c. BC, which is clearly demonstrated by the cessation of settlement activity within its Chora  (Bujskich 2006, p. 115-139). The re-emergence of the agricultural sector seems to have been reflected in the pictorial programme of the coins from the IV c. BC onwards, a practice not uncommon in the Greek Oikumene. Many Greek settlements refer to important economic sectors on their coins, such as fish, wine or cereals. Prominent examples are the images of whole tunas or even only parts of the fish on the coins of Cyzicus (Stolba 2008, p. 15), grains on some coins of Leontinoi (Talmatchi 2013, p. 315-317) or sturgeon on the coins of Olbia's eastern neighbor, Panticapaeum (Stolba 2008, p. 121-123).
Basically, it could be discussed whether the above-mentioned change within the Olbian monetary system in general was a reaction to a largescale reconsolidation of the Olbian settlement, which is reflected in a complete redesign of the Olbian urban space and the above-mentioned repopulation of its chora. Thus, towards the end of the V or the beginning of the IV c. BC, the socalled suburb was completely abandoned (Fornasier 2017, s. 48), its inhabitants will probably have settled in the settlements of the Chora or within the redesigned urban space. Apparently at the beginning, but definitely during the first half of the IV c. BC, this area was surrounded by an extensive city wall, which included the main plateau, i. e. the Olbian centre, the Lower City including the harbor on the banks of the Buh River, as well as also populated Terrace City between the plateau and the Lower City, in which the sector «T-4» relevant here is also located ( fig. 1). It is possible that this reorganization of the polis, which apparently encompassed its entire territory, was accompanied by a general restructuring of Olbia, which was not only territorial, but also political and economic, and which was intended to ensure a previously unknown uniformity of the polis. The coins of the IV c. BC could also be usefully placed in this context, as they were characterized by a turn towards minted images, which both unified and facilitated their mass production, as well as by an accompanying uniform image programme. Moreover, this development in the Olbian monetary system chronologically goes hand in hand with the territorial changes of Olbia and seems to refer to them in terms of content -after all, they obviously show a direct reference to the resurrected agricultural sector. In addition, the coins of the IV c. BC, again concerning both the small currency and their larger counterparts, already at the beginning mostly show the inscribed reference to Olbia, which is also a novelty and underlines the official character of the minting of coins during the IV c. BC, whereas this was largely missing from the monetary objects of the V c. BC. Thus, the small coinage or, more generally, the coins minted in Olbia in the IV c. BC could also reflect the apparent new consolidation of the Olbian polis at the end of the V or beginning of the IV c. BC in the form of a specific type of object of Olbian origin, which could be an indicator that this reorganization was not only spatially reflected, but also affected the political and economic structures of Olbia.
A total of 42 monetary objects can be identified as Olbian small coins of the IV c. BC at the «T-4» sector during the campaigns of 2018-2020. However, it should be noted that in most cases it is difficult to catalogue the coins precisely, as their state of preservation often makes an exact identification difficult or even impossible. Nevertheless, due to the already described peculiarities -the mentioned small dimensions as well as the use of copper alloy for the production -their affiliation to the Olbian small coins can at least be addressed as objects of the IV c. BC with Olbian origin, even if an exact allocation is not possible.
Finally, it is worth mentioning a peculiarity of the Olbian small coins, which makes them stand out in comparison with other Greek poleis during the IV c. BC. Basically, most Greek cities already minted primarily silver coins at the end of the VI c. or at the beginning of the V c. BC, which were mostly based on a Greek weight standard. The two larger neighboring poleis of Olbia, Istria and Panticapaeum, also minted silver coins as early as the beginning of the V c. BC (Stingl 2005, s. 120-121). Coins made of copper or copper alloy usually appear much later, mainly from the second half of the IV c. BC onwards, but they are then usually much heavier and larger than the Olbian small coins. Thus, this genus of Olbian money makes it difficult to draw an analogy with the coins of other Greek poleis at the same time, both inside and outside the Northern Black Sea area. Only the cast «wheel» coins from Istria can be compared in function and dimensions with the Olbian coins (Anokhin 2011, p. 42-43, N 188), but they remain the absolute exception. This leads to the conclusion that the Olbian coinage had a small function change at a very early stage, since the purchase value or material value of the Olbian coins is not expected to be particularly high. There is a clear difference here to the silver coinage of the other Greek cities at the same time, which, due to their material and weight, were probably used for larger transactions, for example for foreign trade or in exchange for larger quantities of goods, while for smaller transactions barter was probably still used. This may already have been replaced, or at least complemented on a large scale, by the introduction of the small copper currency in Olbia. This may have been derived from the usage of arrowheadshaped money (Anokhin 2011, p. 30-31, N 153) or, in Olbia and its territory, from the dolphinshaped coins, which, in view of the material used and the, at least in part, also quite low weight, probably fulfilled a function quite comparable to the Olbian small coins and were later, after the reorganization of the polis, successively replaced by them. Thus, Olbia can probably be described as one of the cradles of change as in small coinage not in changing something, maybe small currency would be better.
Since the last third of the IV c. BC in Olbia, coins are issued with the image of the river deity Borysthenes. The borysthenes coins found at the «T-4» site -well-preserved -have trims: Φ, AP, ΕΥ, ΔH ( fig. 8: 73, 75-77), belong to the groups I-a, II-c, V-c, VII, allocated by P. O. Karyshkovskyi (Карышковский 2003, с. 168-174), and cover the entire chronological period of their existencefrom 330 to 230 BC (Appendix). The differences between them lie both in the weight category and in stylistic features. Thus, in a specimen of the first group ( fig. 8: 73), the ear of the river deity is covered with large locks of hair, the horn is turned forward, a nose and an eye are monolithically merged with the general profile. On coins of other groups, with the trims AP, ΕΥ and ΔH ( fig. 8: 74, 76, 77), the image of Borysthenes conveys thin curling locks of hair that do not cover the ear, with a well-defined earlap. Beard curls are marked in the same way. The nose, lips and eyes are highlighted with separate underlined lines. Coin weights also vary between the larger categories in the first and last groups, and the smaller denominations in the middle groups.
A coin with the head of Artemis on the obverse, and a bow on the reverse, with the inscription BΣE ( fig. 8: 81), which is an abbreviation for βασιλεύς -the official name of the Olbian «king», a priest for life elected (зограф 1951(зограф , с. 134), dated by 180-170 BC (Карышковский 19882003, с. 189;Анохин 1989, с. 50-51), and belongs to a series of coins that supplanted out of circulation earlier copper with numerous countermarks.
According to P. O. Karyshkovskyi, among the coins of Amis, the most numerous tetrachalks with the image of the Ares head in a helmet and a sword in a sheath belong to the third chronological group of coins of Pontus and Paphlagonia in Olbia, 1 To the first two decades of the I c. BC there can be included the following coins: with the head of Apollo on the obverse, and a quiver between the stars on the reverse ( fig. 8: 85), as well as with the image of a dolphin and a star between the caps of the Dioscuri on the obverse, and a tripod on the reverse ( fig. 8: 86). Thus, these items complete the numismatic series of coins from the excavations of the «T-4» sector, which belongs to the stage before the Getan devastation of Olbia, which took place in the middle of this century.
Roman period. Coins of the Roman period found at the «T-4» are represented by the earliest and latest urban numismatic monuments of post-Getan Olbia. So, in the process of research, two copper coins were found with the head of Zeus in a dotted circular rim on the obverse, and the image of an eagle with outstretched wings, the ПА monogram and the inscription OΛBIO ΠΟΛΕΙΤωΝ on the reverse ( fig. 8: 88, 89). One of them on the head of Zeus has a countermark in the shape of a caduceus. According to P. O. Karyshkovskyi, they belong to the third and fourth series of coins of the Zeus / eagle type, and are dated by the mid 50 -early 60s of the I c. AD (Карышковский 1982, с. 19;2003, с. 194, табл. XXIb: 5-15). According to V. A. Anokhin, who starts from the socalled Olbian era (Анохин 1971), their dating varies within the end of 40 -early 50s AD (Анохин 1989, с. 63-64).
Olbian dupondius with the head of Apollo and the inscription OΛBIOΠΟ on the obverse, and Apollo with a round bowl and a bow in his hands, and the inscription ΔΑΔΟC CATY on the reverse ( fig. 8: 90) is dated by 180-192 AD (Карышковский 1988, с. 123;Анохин 1989, с. 73). The inscription on the reverse is compared with the name of Dada, the son of Satyr, known from the Olbian epigraphy (IOSPE I 2 281), during archonatus of whose this coin emission was issued.
In 2019, an excavation extension was carried out in the northern part of the «T-4» site, in which materials from the I-III c. AD were revealed. In it, at a depth of 1.25 m from the level of the modern day surface, the tressis of Julia Mamaea (222-235 AD) of the Olbian coinage, with the image of the head of the empress on the obverse to the right, and the goddess Tyche with a steering oar and a cornucopia on the reverse, was disco-Н у мізматичні студії vered ( fig. 8: 91). Olbia began minting coins with the images of the Roman imperial family since the time of Septimius Severus, which was associated with the entry of the city into the Roman Empire (Карышковский 1988, с. 124-126). This item belongs to the last series of monetary units of the Olbian autonomous minting (Карышковский 1988, с. 127; 2003, с. 264; Анохин 1989, с. 74; 2011, с. 92).