Obels as pre-numismatic units



Obels as pre-numismatic units

Σ759, Σ760
Metal (Iron)
Incomplete on all edges, corroded and flaking surfaces
Length: 39 cm. 60 cm. Thickness: 0.6 cm. 1.5 cm.
Dreros
Geometric period:
9th-8th c. BC:
Gallery:
XXI
Case:
207
Exhibition thematic unit:
Cretan Coinage
Pre-numismatic transactions and coinage in Crete (2nd millennium BC - 2nd c. AD)
Description
Fragments of two obels (roasting-spits). Full-sized obels were used to roast meat at banquets in honour of illustrious men, living or dead. They are found in sanctuaries and wealthy tombs. The earliest examples, dating to the 10th c. BC, have been found in tombs of Knossos, while they later appear in various parts of the island. The survival of the term obel/obol in some ancient sources, taken together with the discovery of the spits in groups of six or multiples of that number, reinforce the theory that a bundle of six obels/obols, a drax (“handful”) of obels, is the precursor of the numismatic drachm or drachma, worth six coins known as obols.
Bibliography:
J. K. Brock, Fortetsa Early Greek Tombs Near Knossos, Cambridge 1957. Μ. Karamesini-Economidou, "Σιδηροὶ ὀβελοί", ΑΑΑ 1969, pp. 436-44. J. Kroll, "Observations on monetary instruments in pre-coinage greece", in M. S. Balmuth (ed.), Hacksilber to Coinage: New Insights into the Monetary History of the Near East and Greece: a Collection of Eight Papers Presented at the 99th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, New York 2001, pp. 77– 1. A. Lioliou , "Σιδηροί οβελοί στον ελλαδικό χώρο της Πρώιμης εποχής του Σιδήρου. 'Εγχρήματο' μέσο της προκερματικής οικονομίας;", in P. Triantafyllidis (ed.), Σοφία άδολος. Τιμητικός τόμος για τον Ιωάννη Χρ. Παπαχριστοδούλου, Rhodes 2014, pp. 595-604.
Author:
K. S.


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