Living here on the Mediterranean coast, halfway between Barcelona and Valencia, I've realised just how fortunate I am to be surrounded by so many ancient sites, ruined, or otherwise still functioning towns and cities. This includes local Iberic tribes, Greek settlers and of course the Roman take over. Large and small settlements are abound and surprisingly all within a few hours drive. I haven't written a thread for a while and thought due to the constraints we are all living through at this moment it would be nice to show some 'beautiful places' that some of you have probably seen before and others not also please excuse my English.... The idea of the thread came to me back in 'HOT' August when me and my family decided to take a short 3 day break to Cadaques, a beautiful little seaside port about 3 1/2hrs up the coast. We primarily went to this area to visit Port Lligat and the absolutetly breathtaking house where Salvador Dali and Gala lived....It's a must see!... The whole of this coastline North of Barcelona up to the French border 'The Costa Brava' is quite stunning! ......I digress................ Heading home and about 3/4 of an hour south are the Greek and Roman ruins of Empuries.....And I wasn't expecting the sight I saw... So here's the first post.... 1....Empuries. Around the 6th century BC, Greek traders from Phocaea, modern day Foca in Turkey, founded the first settlement at Palaiapolis, modern day Sant Marti d'Empuries here in Spain. Some years later, due to increased commercial activity with the local indigenous people, the Iberian Indiketes tribe, the Greeks created the new sector of the city, the 'Neapolis' the colony was called Emporion which in Greek means market. The city thrived and in 218 BC, at the start of the Second Punic War, a Roman army headed by Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio landed at the port of Empuries with the aim of blocking land access to the Carthaginian troops, and so started the Romanisation of the Iberian Peninsula. In 195 BC, Marcus Porcius Cato set up a military camp at Empuries this being the embryo of the new Roman city. In the times of the Emperor Augustus, the Greek and Roman cities became one both physically and legally under the name 'Municipium Emporiae'. Emporiae gradually lost its importance as a trade route due to the expansion of other Roman cities such as Gerunda(Girona), Barcino(Barcelona) and Tarraco(Tarragona) and at the end of the 3rd century AD the whole of the Roman city and the Neapolis were abandoned. The diagram below shows just how big the Roman city was in comparison to the Greek Neapolis....It also shows one of my coins from Phocaea, one of my favourites with a nice griffin reverse. Only 25% of the Roman city has been excavated and is a work in progress. I actually sat for an hour watching and chatting with two archaeologists as they were unearthing another Mosaic floor!! Wonderful! Here's an aerial view showing how little of the Roman city (to the left) has actually been excavated.. Here's a few photos of the site and from the small museum exhibiting different artifacts found on site...Some from the Greek sector and others from the Roman city. Mosaic showing the sacrafice of Iphigenia 1st century BC. Amazing artistry.. Some coins... A couple from the site... Sweet mosaics everywhere you look!...Speaking with the archaeologists was quite informative. They said that this year they would uncover at least 35 more mosaic floors in the Roman city alone and just the area that has already been excavated!..Another group were working on the North side of Neapolis where back in January the MD'ers had uncovered hundreds of metal artifacts including coins that are now being cleaned and registered...They are also now going to extend the museum to the 2nd floor.. And finally here's the coin (Quite difficult to find these in such nice condition). It has great provedance being from the Ex Archer M Huntington Collection (HSA 1001.1.10234). Archer M Huntington (1870-1955) had scholarly connections to both the American Numismatic Society (ANS) and the Hispanic Society of America (HSA). His collection of Spanish-related coinage numbered almost 38000 coins and became the most complete collection of Spanish-related coins ever assembled outside of Spain. Here she is....And I must say it feels quite amazing to have walked around a place where this coin was minted over 2000 years ago! Iberia. Indigets. Emporia Æ AS...27.88mm/10.05grams..27-25 BC.. Obverse:Head of the goddess Pallas Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet with the visor raised and a large plume. Reverse: Pegasos flying right, laurel crown above rump; EMPO below. Villaronga, ACIP 1098 - R6 Anyhow thought I'd show a little of what's here for future reference..Well worth a visit. Please feel free to post a coin from Empuries or anything you think will add to the thread........
Brilliant writeup and coin, @Spaniard. Your level of engagement is enough to cancel a lot of the envy an American might harbor toward you! ...Maybe not all of it....
kool Spaniard...i'd love for someone to bring one by my house so i could see it..(i don't get out much)
Very interesting. Spain has a rich numismatic history. This lures me to coastal Spain where I've often hoped to visit. Also, I was born and grew up in Emporia (Kansas).
With apologies for the delay, here's a coin from a place I got to as an 11-year-old, on my only trip to Europe. Archbishopric of Reims. Henri II de Dreux, Archbishop 1227-1240. Obv. HENR /ICVS in two lines; +ARCHIEPISCOPVS. Rev. Cross, crescents and fleurs de lis in angles. +RE0)[/M]IS CIVITAS. This is a contemporaneous stained-glass window from the cathedral, showing Henri. And here's one view of the nave. One thing I like about Gothic and Romanesque cathedrals is how they manage an impression of grandeur on what, at least in 700 years' worth of retrospect, comes across as a distinctly human scale. In any modern European city, they're likely to be dwarfed by skyscrapers. Archbishop Henri is an interesting character in his own right. He was a brother of Robert III, Count of Dreux, and Pierre 'Mauclerc' de Dreux, who spent much of his career as de jure Duke of Brittany. The three brothers were active political allies, particularly in Pierre's machinations against local feudal rivals and successive French kings.
A wonderful coin, @Spaniard! It is quite difiicult to find a coin from Empuries in such attractive condition. I myself have been looking for one for quite a while for reasons similar to yours: my wife grew up in Palamós (some 20 miles south of Empúries), we still have a place there and visit quite often. I love the ruins and museum, and I go there about everytime I'm in the area. I don't have a coin to show (yet), but here are some pictures from my last trip to Empúries: The Greek city with the museum entrance in the background: The Roman city with the mosaic floors and the forum and baths in the far background: The beautiful coastline nearby – a terrific place for hiking and kayaking: These are the ruins of the nearby Iberian oppidum Ullastret. If you are in the region next time, you might want to visit. They are quite impressive and also have a good museum:
I spent a very pleasant half-day in Empúries in July 2007, after seeing a sign "Ruinas". It was a hot sunny day and in interesting site, with the Greek city, later Roman city and parts of the Greek city reused as an early Christian graveyard Reproduction of a statue of Aesclepius: Mosaic floor: Part of the Roman city forum: Some early Christian burials: I was determined to get a coin from there and picked up a few in the next few years (none since 2010). I posted my Emporion coins recently in the Pigasus thread, so just one here - a drachm with the head of Pegasus formed by Chrysaor (probably - mostly off-flan): I like this thread - I try to see where the coins came from too ATB, Aidan.
Thanks all.... @+VGO.DVCKS......Nice experience to of had at 11 years old, a very historical city. Thanks for the great photos, some serious stained glass artwork...Medieval is by no means my strong point but that's a great looking coin!...Just curious but did you purchase the coin because you'd been there?... @Orielensis.....Thanks for those lovely photos it brings it all back!...Due to your continual visits you've probably seen the site grow with its work in progress? I didn't know of the Iberian oppidum Ullastret, I wish I had!. But we are planning to stay in that area next summer for a longer period so I've got it tagged thanks...Lovely photo of the coastline which really puts into perspective the location, overlooking the Med with small pine woods around....We actually went for a swim after visiting the site right in front of Neapolis with the ancient Greek walls running down onto the beach... @akeady......Yes when we saw the same sign 'Ruinas' I thought 'ahhh' but on arrival firstly we were quite blown away by the setting and secondly spent around 4 hours calmly walking around the site, there were only 3 other people. One thing I found so interesting was spending time speaking with the archaeologists who were working there....What a great job to have! This trip really changed my feelings about the coins I collect...I will focus more on the interaction between the places I visit and the coins minted there.
@Spaniard, thanks for your 'vote of confidence,' especially regarding the coin in question! Having been there wasn't the first reason; I was collecting deniers of Reims for specific archbishops, especially 13th-century ones, more for their historical significance. (Please see one very recent post of @Alegandron ...somewhere, about collecting from the history, first, with aesthetics as a (necessarily --especially with medievals) secondary criterion.) ...And all the pics were from online; variously Wikimedia Commons and the dealer's photos of the coin.
