Byzantium and the Avars

The rich finds of Roman denarii and Byzantine gold solidi on the Baltic Islands of Öland, Gotland, and Bornholm have aroused scholars' interest since the 19th century. Bolin pointed out in the 1920s that many denarii had probably reached Gotland before the Goths arrived in the Black Sea area in (1926). The occurrence of gold solidi in Scandinavia has also been given various interpretations, from payment to soldiers in the Roman army or tribute to the loot of the homecoming Heruls, as suggested by Lindqvist (1945). The spatial distribution of the Kolben armlets, together with finds as far away as the Black Sea area, is very significant. The Kolben armlets were also made in the West Roman Empire during the 4th century, although the later distribution seems to indicate a more easterly production. Garnets from the Black Sea area are also known to have been imported from the end of the 7th century

Ancient history · Archaeology · Byzantine Studies and History · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Medieval History and Crusades