Ancient Numismatics Ma
A.Y. 2019/2020
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide students with detailed knowledge of the history of ancient coins, mainly with reference to the Greek and Roman world.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge: Students will acquire a methodological background useful for approaching contextual numismatic studies; they will be aware of theoretical and practical information that will allow them to offer a correct technical analysis and critical evaluation of ancient coins and ancient coinages
Skills: Students will learn to manage the numismatic object as historical source, related to the reconstruction of the past, the archaeological contexts (the chronological sequences, the dating of archaeological layers, etc.) and the ancient economic process; they will also gain experience in cataloguing coins (according to the ministerial sheets) and expertise in reading the coin-object found during archaeological survey and excavations; they will also learn the Italian and European laws about the management of the coins as an archaeological item.
Skills: Students will learn to manage the numismatic object as historical source, related to the reconstruction of the past, the archaeological contexts (the chronological sequences, the dating of archaeological layers, etc.) and the ancient economic process; they will also gain experience in cataloguing coins (according to the ministerial sheets) and expertise in reading the coin-object found during archaeological survey and excavations; they will also learn the Italian and European laws about the management of the coins as an archaeological item.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The course includes the presentation and discussion of the following topics:
Teaching Unit A (20 h; 3 ECTS): Greek and Roman coinages: an Introduction
Teaching Unit B (20 h; 3 ECTS): The thousand faces of Dionysus
Teaching Unit C (20 h; 3 ECTS): Pompeii and the coin finds
The first Teaching Unit provides basic vocabulary and fundaments of Numismatics, in connection within archaeology and socio-economic and political history.
The second Unit, as a part of an experimental and innovative teaching method, will be held in conjunction with the course of Classical Mythology held by Professor Silvia Romani: the theme 'Dionysus' will be addressed according to distinct approaches and heterogeneous readings - from the world of religion and rite to that of figurative representation and numismatics - in order to highlight and analyse the complexity of the ancient treatment of the subject.
The third Unit will examine the archaeological problems offered by contextual numismatics using, as a privileged case study, the single finds and the hoards form the excavations in Pompeii.
The student is expected to attend Teaching Units A and B to obtain 6 ECTS and Teaching Units A, B and C to earn 9 ECTS. It is not possible to obtain only 3 credits (following a single module).
Attendance to the course, though optional, is strongly recommended.
Teaching Unit A (20 h; 3 ECTS): Greek and Roman coinages: an Introduction
Teaching Unit B (20 h; 3 ECTS): The thousand faces of Dionysus
Teaching Unit C (20 h; 3 ECTS): Pompeii and the coin finds
The first Teaching Unit provides basic vocabulary and fundaments of Numismatics, in connection within archaeology and socio-economic and political history.
The second Unit, as a part of an experimental and innovative teaching method, will be held in conjunction with the course of Classical Mythology held by Professor Silvia Romani: the theme 'Dionysus' will be addressed according to distinct approaches and heterogeneous readings - from the world of religion and rite to that of figurative representation and numismatics - in order to highlight and analyse the complexity of the ancient treatment of the subject.
The third Unit will examine the archaeological problems offered by contextual numismatics using, as a privileged case study, the single finds and the hoards form the excavations in Pompeii.
The student is expected to attend Teaching Units A and B to obtain 6 ECTS and Teaching Units A, B and C to earn 9 ECTS. It is not possible to obtain only 3 credits (following a single module).
Attendance to the course, though optional, is strongly recommended.
Prerequisites for admission
Detailed knowledge of Greek and Roman History.
Teaching methods
Lectures of Ancient Numismatics for Master students are offered according to the traditional method of frontal teaching.
In the second Unit, the Numismatics course will be held in conjunction with the Mythology course (Pr. Silvia Romani) in order to enrich the educational offer through an innovative teaching method. The ancient coin types (specifically Dionysus) will be considered within the myth underlying the figurative representation. Students will have the opportunity to present reports on individual case studies, under the guidance of the teachers.
During the third Unit, within the frontal teaching, students will present short reports analyzing specific cases.
Lectures will be given by professors of Numismatics from other universities in order to offer students diverse approaches to the world of ancient coinages. Papers, lessons and lectures shared with the chair of classical mythology or given by students will make it possible to acquire a different and complex numismatics training. With this approach, students will acquire a methodological and archaeological training in contextual numismatics studies, as well as a theoretical and practical information to allow them a proper technical analysis and critical evaluation of the monetary document.
The materials presented and discussed during the lessons will be posted on Ariel.
In the second Unit, the Numismatics course will be held in conjunction with the Mythology course (Pr. Silvia Romani) in order to enrich the educational offer through an innovative teaching method. The ancient coin types (specifically Dionysus) will be considered within the myth underlying the figurative representation. Students will have the opportunity to present reports on individual case studies, under the guidance of the teachers.
During the third Unit, within the frontal teaching, students will present short reports analyzing specific cases.
Lectures will be given by professors of Numismatics from other universities in order to offer students diverse approaches to the world of ancient coinages. Papers, lessons and lectures shared with the chair of classical mythology or given by students will make it possible to acquire a different and complex numismatics training. With this approach, students will acquire a methodological and archaeological training in contextual numismatics studies, as well as a theoretical and practical information to allow them a proper technical analysis and critical evaluation of the monetary document.
The materials presented and discussed during the lessons will be posted on Ariel.
Teaching Resources
A. Attending students
Students who intend to take the 6 ECTS exam must study the lecture notes and texts 1 and 2; students who intend to take the 9 ECTS exam must study the lecture notes and texts 1, 2, 3, 4.
Teaching Unit A:
1) W.E. Metcalf (ed. by), The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2011 [chapters 2-3, 5-10, 16-18, 20, 22-23, 27-29, 31-32]
Teaching Unit B
2) F. Frontisi Ducroux, Dioniso e il suo culto, in S. Settis, I Greci: storia, cultura, arte e società, II.2, Einaudi, Milano 1997, pp. 275-307 [available on Ariel at the beginning of the course]
3) Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), sub vocem Dionysos e Bacchus, v. III, pp. 414-566 [available on Ariel at the beginning of the course]
Teaching Unit C
4) M. Beard, Prima del fuoco. Pompei, storie di ogni giorno, Editori Laterza, Roma-Bari 2012 [o altre edizioni]
B. Non-attending students
Non-attending students who intend to take the 6 ECTS exam must study texts 5, 6, 7; non-attending students who intend to take the 9 ECTS exam must study texts 5, 6, 7, 8.
Teaching Unit A:
5) W.E. Metcalf (ed. by), The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2011 [chapters 2, 3, 5-10, 16-18, 20, 22-23, 27-29, 31-32]
Teaching Unit B
6) Ph. Grierson, Introduzione alla numismatica, Jouvence, Milano 2015 [or other editions], pp. 184-206
7) W.H. Harris, Una prospettiva revisionistica della moneta romana, "Rivista di Storia Economica" 22/3 (2006), pp. 287-306
Teaching Unit C
8) N. Parise, La nascita della moneta, Donzelli, Roma 2000.
Warning
International students or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the teacher during the course. The examination procedures for students with disabilities and/or with learning disabilities must be agreed with the teacher, in agreement with the competent office.
Students who intend to take the 6 ECTS exam must study the lecture notes and texts 1 and 2; students who intend to take the 9 ECTS exam must study the lecture notes and texts 1, 2, 3, 4.
Teaching Unit A:
1) W.E. Metcalf (ed. by), The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2011 [chapters 2-3, 5-10, 16-18, 20, 22-23, 27-29, 31-32]
Teaching Unit B
2) F. Frontisi Ducroux, Dioniso e il suo culto, in S. Settis, I Greci: storia, cultura, arte e società, II.2, Einaudi, Milano 1997, pp. 275-307 [available on Ariel at the beginning of the course]
3) Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), sub vocem Dionysos e Bacchus, v. III, pp. 414-566 [available on Ariel at the beginning of the course]
Teaching Unit C
4) M. Beard, Prima del fuoco. Pompei, storie di ogni giorno, Editori Laterza, Roma-Bari 2012 [o altre edizioni]
B. Non-attending students
Non-attending students who intend to take the 6 ECTS exam must study texts 5, 6, 7; non-attending students who intend to take the 9 ECTS exam must study texts 5, 6, 7, 8.
Teaching Unit A:
5) W.E. Metcalf (ed. by), The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2011 [chapters 2, 3, 5-10, 16-18, 20, 22-23, 27-29, 31-32]
Teaching Unit B
6) Ph. Grierson, Introduzione alla numismatica, Jouvence, Milano 2015 [or other editions], pp. 184-206
7) W.H. Harris, Una prospettiva revisionistica della moneta romana, "Rivista di Storia Economica" 22/3 (2006), pp. 287-306
Teaching Unit C
8) N. Parise, La nascita della moneta, Donzelli, Roma 2000.
Warning
International students or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the teacher during the course. The examination procedures for students with disabilities and/or with learning disabilities must be agreed with the teacher, in agreement with the competent office.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Ancient Numismatics encompasses an oral exam that will focus on the topics dealt with during the course and/or texts provided in the bibliography. During the interview, students must prove that they have learned the fundamentals of the discipline and demonstrate that they have reached a specific knowledge of ancient monetary dynamics. Students must also contextualise ancient coinages within their precise socio-economic and historical framework. During the examination students must also recognise and describe an ancient coin: this will be done using the materials presented during the course or on the basis of the photographic materials included in the texts recommended for preparation. Assessment will be base on the following criteria: ability to present the acquired knowledge in a critical and not passive view; capacity for critical reasoning on the study carried out; quality of exposure and competence in the use of technical vocabulary.
Marks are out of 30.
Marks are out of 30.
Unita' didattica A
L-ANT/04 - NUMISMATICS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-ANT/04 - NUMISMATICS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-ANT/04 - NUMISMATICS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)