Jarosław Bodzek

The aim of the article is to publish and discuss the late Roman solidus of Theodosius II (408-450), found in 2018 in the vicinity of the village of Prełuki, Komańcza commune, Sanok County. The coin was found randomly by treasure hunters, eventually recovered and donated to the Historical Museum of Sanok by Robert Fedyk. It is the second find of a late Roman solidus in the Upper San River basin. Several years ago a solidus of Valentinian III (425-455) had been found in Prusiek, Sanok County. Both coins belong to the early Migration Period finds horizon in this area. This consists of few bronze buckles, a sword, and fragments of a Hunnic cauldron finds. In all likelihood, the solidi found their way into the Upper San River basin as a consequence of the Hunnic-Germanic relations. They should be also treated as a part of the latest wave of Roman coins arriving in the present Lesser Poland area in the 5th century AD.

A cast bronze coin belonging to the 2nd series of the Olbian “asses,” dated to the second half of the 5th century BC, is included in the collections of the Jagiellonian University Museum. The coin was probably added to the university collection in 1871, as a gift of Baron Edward Rastawiecki (1805–1874) for the archaeological unit. According to the donor, the “as” was found during the excavation of a barrow in the village of Ostrohladovich in Minsk province – currently Astrahlady/Astrahliady/Ostrogliade (Belarusian Астрагля́ды, Russian Острогляды) in Belarus in the Gomel region, in the Brahin district. In the first millennium BC this area was occupied by the Miłograd culture. Finds of coins produced in Olbia, in particular the Olbian “asses,” have not been recorded outside the Black Sea region until recently. In recent years, however, finds of early Olbian coins (known as “dolphins” and “asses”) have been recorded in the forest-steppe zone. These new discoveries give credence to the finding of the “as” from Ostrohladovich. The coin arrived in the area of the Miłograd culture probably via the Scythians.