Mediterranean Europe: Canadian scientists using ancient coins to map trading routes - by Randy Boswell

Canadian scientists probing the metal content of coins exchanged thousands of years ago in Mediterranean Europe have discovered a new way to map ancient trade patterns, to retrace economic ups and downs at the dawn of Western Civilization and even to shed new light on the collapse of the Roman Empire.


Researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton have launched a research project in which nuclear radiation is used to identify changes in metal content among ancient Greek and Roman coins held in a world-class collection amassed at the university since the 1940s. "As we determine what the coins are made of, we are then able to reconstruct ancient trade routes, understand the development of economies and even determine the extent of counterfeiting," McMaster archeologist Spencer Pope states in a project summary issued Tuesday. "This research will help us link the archeological to the historical to understand how we, as a society, got to where we are today."

"For the Roman period, there are many crises that can be recognized in the numismatic record," said Pope, describing one "budget crunch" during Punic Wars of the 3rd century B.C., when Rome was battling Carthage — centred in present-day Tunisia — for control of the Mediterranean world. "We can see metal coins begin to have more base metal — junk metal — added to 'debase' the coins," he noted. "As Rome and other cities fall into crises and get into economic trouble, more bronze coins appear (rather than silver), and even these are diluted by tin or lead."

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