Treasury of Roman Victoriati

Description

One of the most remarkable finds from the Poggio Colla acropolis is an olpe, that is, a small ceramic vessel, filled with exactly 100 Roman coins, specifically silver victoriates. Although the black-glazed olpe is an ever-present type from the third and fourth centuries B.C.E., the victoriates are dated to the late third-early second centuries B.C.E. These come from both mints in Rome and Sicily. Each coin has an image of Jupiter on the obverse and an image of a winged victory crowning a trophy on the reverse. The presence of Roman coins at Poggio Colla testifies to the growing influence of Rome and its military in northern Etruria during the third and second centuries B.C. In any case, the placement of this hoard in a well-known shrine and the fact that it contained exactly 100 coins of the same type suggests that it may have been a votive offering.