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The Evolution of Pre‐Islamic S outh A rabian Coinage: A Metallurgical Analysis of Coins Excavated In S umhuram ( K hor‐Rori, S ultanate of O man)
Author(s) -
Chiarantini L.,
Benvenuti M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/arcm.12036
Subject(s) - kingdom , ancient history , islam , archaeology , numismatics , history , geology , paleontology
The present paper deals with compositional and microstructural features of 26 pre‐Islamic, S outh A rabian coins recently unearthed during archaeological excavations. Most of the investigated coins come from S umhuram ( K hor R ori, southern O man), and were minted by the H adramawt kingdom (fourth century bc to third century ad ); only a few of them belong to the H imyarite kingdom's coinage (first to fourth centuries ad ). In addition, some coins of both the H adramawt and the H imyarite kingdoms found at Q ani' ( B 'ir ‘Ali, Republic of Y emen) have been analysed for comparison. Our main focus was to provide new hints towards the comprehension of the chronological evolution in S outh A rabian coinage in terms of both metal composition and minting techniques. In addition, some melting crucibles found at S umhuram have been examined in an attempt to make a comparison with the coins’ composition and to test the hypothesis that they were used for minting operations.