Coins from the Roman-Byzantine Synagogue at Phanagoria, the Cimmerian Bosporus

Abstract

Fifty-six Bosporan coins retrieved during the excavation season of the ancient diasporic synagogue at Phanagoria are discussed. Almost all the coins are bronze staters minted in the names of Thothorses (285/6‒309/10 CE), Rhadamsades (309/10‒318/9 CE) and Rhescuporis VI (318/9‒341/2 CE). A hoard of 13 staters was discovered in a hidden compartment in the floor of the prayer hall. Two dozen coins were scattered under the floors of the synagogue. Others came probably from a kuppah (charity box) as they were found with what might have been its cover. In the middle of the sixth century, the synagogue perished in a huge fire.