The visual program behind the Roman architectural depictions on coins

Architectural representations are rare, but they do occur on Roman coins. Today they are a valuable source of information on how buildings and sometimes even minor details looked like, which have since perished. Unfortunately, because of the nature of coins the interpretation of the depictions is occasionally quite difficult. This is further complicated by that the architectural representations, apart from the purely propagandistic purpose, also had various other meanings. Through some examples I will try to show in this paper, how these depictions can be used for the interpretation of the remains of actual buildings or for their reconstruction

City gate or watchtower? Turret or signal beacon?

Perhaps the most common architectural depiction on the Late Roman bronze coin reverses is the so-called “camp gate”: a rectangular façade with varying details. Usually, an arched opening is depicted on a wall made of stone blocks, and there is also a number of small objects or structures over the masonry. Beyond these general features, there are many differences in the details. Sometimes the door-leaves are also shown, though the arch over the opening is universally unmarked. The ashlar walls have different textures, in some cases even rudimentary cornices are shown. What is of peculiar interest, is the rendering of those structures or objects above the wall, which are often referred to by collectors colloquially as “barbecue kettles”

3D reconstructions using GPR data at the Mont Beuvray

This short case study had the aim to show a possible use of 3D visualization of ground penetrating radar (GPR) results. GPR’s main advantage over magnetometry is the presence of data related to the depth of the structures under the soil. This feature could be easily exploited using CAD applications and the results provide a great help for the evaluation of the GPR results.<br /

Geophysical prospection on the Pâture du Couvent (Bibracte, France)

This article investigates the usability of ground-penetrating radar and provides a report on the geophysical survey in the zone of the Pature du Couvent on the Mont Beuvray. In 2014 a large area was explored and this paper presents how the results could be related to the excavated archaeological structures.</p