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Submitted for award of PhD September 2006. - King's College London

Submitted for award of PhD September 2006. - King's College London

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Most <strong>of</strong> the coins with the legend are so damaged that they are only partially<br />

readable. 809 The legend appears either as Im Oii or irnOr. It runs from the left to the right<br />

and it is in a mixture <strong>of</strong> scripts. It has been classified as early Oscan: the letter D could<br />

be Oscan as well as the letter N; the letter i which begins and ends the word<br />

is ligatured<br />

into the letter D at the beginning <strong>of</strong> the legend. 810 The letter 0 does not exist in the<br />

Oscan alphabet and is thought to be a borrowing from the Etruscan or Greek alphabet.<br />

Many <strong>of</strong> the irnOii and mussel coins were found in necropoleis, tombs or<br />

sanctuaries around the Bay <strong>of</strong> Naples, although the provenance <strong>of</strong> only a third is known.<br />

Specimens have been found at Ponticelli, Caivano, Pompeii, Stabiae, Nuceria,<br />

Pontecagnano (ager Picentinus), Montecorvino Rovella (ager Picentinus) and Sorrento,<br />

but the largest number turned up in Punta della Campanella, in the area <strong>of</strong> the shrine. 81<br />

The coins are almost always accompanied by Neapolitan coins, which were the most<br />

commonly used in the region. Since the dating <strong>of</strong> Neapolitan issues is fairly certain, they<br />

help to date the irnOii coins to the period between 340 and 320 BC. 812<br />

As regards identification <strong>of</strong> the legend and the location <strong>of</strong> the mint, there are two<br />

main views: Fiorelli, Beloch and Devoto thought that the coins were Etruscan. 813<br />

Fiorelli<br />

suggested that the legend referred to the Irno, the river that flows into the sea south <strong>of</strong><br />

Salerno. He also argued that a city with the same name existed in the region, which he<br />

identified with the Etruscan site <strong>of</strong> Fratte di Salerno. These arguments were rejected by<br />

Zancani Montuoro, who proved that Irno is a medieval name. 814 Avellino instead<br />

809<br />

Russo (1990) 246-7.<br />

810<br />

It is possible that we are dealing with the earliest appearance <strong>of</strong> the letter or the date, set at 300 BC,<br />

must be lowered.<br />

all Stazio (1990) 269-70.<br />

812 Libero Mangieri (1994) 22.<br />

813 Beloch (1979) 10; <strong>for</strong> Morelli see Stazio (1990) 270; Devoto (1967) 123.<br />

814 Zancani Montuoro (1949) 61-8.<br />

244

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