Numbers and Percentages of Bronze Coins Excavated at Caesarea and Other Palestinian Sites
Period and Type Caes Jerus KS Me GH S BS Sam BeS Fourth century bce 1? 1 - - 1 - 1 1 - - - - - 0.5% - 0.75% - - Ptolemaic 2 30 4 2 - 1? 16 155+ 2 - - 1% - - - 20.5% 10% 0.5% Seleucid 42 253 8 40 7 5 4 442 134 2% 3% 2% 4% 2.5% 1.5% 5% 28% 40% Hasmonean 4 4162 55 108 5 11 8 66 52 - 47% 11% 11% 2.5% 3% 10% 4% 15.5% City coins, 100 bce 98 50 18 102 11 15 14 20 66 -200 ce 4% 0.5% 4% 10% 2% 4.5% 18% 1% 20% Palestinian-Roman 94 2923 - 25 2 4 3 167 37 2.5% 33% - 3% 1% 1% 4% 10.5% 11% Roman Imperial and 57 1 - 10 3 6 - 109 2 Colonial, 1 ce-200 ce 2% - - 1% 1.5% 2% - 7% 0.5% Colonial 200-250 ce 53 362 12 7 7 28 25 30 7 3% 4% 2.5% 3.5% 3.5% 8% 32% 2% 2% Imperial 250-300 ce 62 121 16 41 5 28 - 30 3 3% 1.5% 3% 4% 2.5% 8% - 2% 1% Late Roman 4th-5th c. 1269 654 361 625 153 237 3 498 2 55% 7.5% 77% 63% 77% 69% 4% 31.5% 0.5% Byzantine 6th-7th c. 614 259 6 - 5 10 - 59 27 27% 3% 1% - 2.5% 3% - 4% 8% Totals 2298 8816 480 995 199 344 78 1577 332
The number of coins found at Caesarea is not of the magnitude one might expect for a prosperous Roman city, yet the proportion is not that different from the sites of Gush Halev, Khirbet Shema', Beth Shan, and Meiron. The proportions from Jerusalem, Samaria, and Beer-sheba are markedly different. This may be explained by differing recovery procedures in the excavations (especially the older excavations of Samaria and Jerusalem) or by differing economies in the different areas of Palestine (especially imperial Jerusalem, but possibly also Beer-sheba).
A large upswing in the number and proportion of late Roman coins is found in all excavation reports, which is why we are forced to conclude that the area as a whole was prosperous. The notable exception is Jerusalem, though the proportion may be skewed somewhat, as these small bronzes are not always recovered nor recorded, expecially in older excavation reports. The presence of large numbers of Byzantine coins in all the Caesarea excavation reports (except from the 1990 season), contrasts with their absence from the rest of Palestine and permits the conclusion that Caesarea was an important part of the Byzantine economy, even functioning for a few years as a mint for countermarking coins.
Cities represented: Caesarea, Jerusalem, Khirbet Shema', Meiron, Gush Halev, Sepphoris, Beer-sheba, Samaria, and Beth-Shan. The coin counts do not include synagogue deposits, which tend to be skewed toward higher denomination coins. Percentages less than 1/2% are not shown; all percentages are rounded to the nearest half-percent.