Coin propaganda and communication

In this paper, I would like to examine propaganda value of Roman coins. First of all, I will explain why I believe that familiarity with modern theory of propaganda may be use in classical studies, particularly in the study of coins (which are sometimes the sole traces of propaganda campaigns). An awareness of the varying definitions of propaganda may help to determine which phenomena can and cannot be labelled as propaganda. At the same time knowledge of different types of propaganda could help us to categorise the cases we encounter and allow us to label them in the correct manner. Secondly, I will like to present certian communication models (the Shannon–Weaver model, Lasswell's model, Schramm's model, Eco's Semiotic Model, etc) that I believe may be helpful in the study of coin propaganda. The main contribution to this field would be that they could enable us to ask the right questions pertaining to propaganda and the way it is transmitted. Finally, I will focus on the conceptual framework of how to study propaganda proposed by Jowett and O'Donnell. This is made up of several key questions that every scholar must attempt to answer if they wish to study propaganda successfully. In addition, I will make some critical remarks concerning the adaptation of this framework to the study of ancient coin propaganda

The acoustics of contiones, or how many Romans could have heard speakers

Contiones – assemblies during which important Roman politicians discussed the laws proposed at the People’s Assemblies as well as candidates for the offices and presented their opinions to the Roman people – are considered by some scholars as one of the central institutions and rituals of the Roman Republic. Considering the role contiones played in the political life of the Roman Republic, we can ask how many Romans participated in them. In our paper we present results of acoustic analyses of two places at the Forum Romanum that we know were platforms for speakers at contiones: the Rostra and the podium of the Temple of Castores. The main goal of our study was to establish the maximum number of participants that could have heard speeches inteligibly. To do that we used a 3D model of Forum Romanum considering not only the geometry but also the acoustic parameters of materials used to construct the rostra and adjacent constructions. Based on the sound power level of a speaker and possible noise sources, on which the recipients were exposed to, we established areas where speeches could have been heard and understood. This in turn allowed us to estimate the maximum number of recipients

Studies on Roman coin finds from the Central European Barbaricum in the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University : an overview

A direct successor of the oldest tradition of academic archaeology in Poland, the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University ranks among the leading research centres with respect to studies on the influx of Roman coins into European Barbaricum. The interest in Roman coinage at the Jagiellonian University pre-dates archaeology and can be traced back to the 16th century and the professors of the Kraków Academy (the name of the university at that time) Maciej of Miechów (1457-1523) and Stanisław Grzebski (1524-1570). In the 19th century, Roman coins discovered in the vicinity of Kraków attracted the interest of Jerzy Samuel Bandtke (1768-1835). However, the time when this area of research enjoyed particular development falls to the last years before WWII and the post-war period. A significant role in this respect was played by researchers either representing the JU Institute of Archaeology, like Professors Rudolf Jamka (1906-1972), Kazimierz Godłowski (1934-1995), and Piotr Kaczanowski (1944-2015), or those cooper-ating with the Institute like Professor Stefan Skowronek (1928-2019). Their activity laid the foundations for today’s research on the finds of Roman coins and their inflow into the territories of the Roman Period Barbaricum. Currently, this area of studies is within the focus of two of the departments of the Institute of Archaeology: the Department of Iron Age Archaeology and the Department of Classical Archaeology. The intensification of research on the inflow of Roman coins owes much to the Finds of Roman coins in Poland and lands connected historically with PL project, carried out in 2014–2018 under the leadership of Professor Aleksander Burshe, with important contributions provided by a group of scholars from the JU Institute of Archaeology. Despite the conclusion of the project, studies on the inflow of Roman coins will continue.1

One, Two, Three! Can everybody hear me? : Acoustics of Roman contiones : case studies of the Capitoline Hill and the Temple of Bellona in Rome

Retoryka była jednym z fundamentów rzymskiej edukacji a wystąpienia publiczne esencją bycia rzymskim politykiem. Mówcy starali się oczarować publiczność swoim stylem i przekonać ich do swoich argumentów. Badanie publiczności jest zatem równie ważne, jak badanie mówców i ich przemówień. Celem tego artykułu jest oszacowanie liczby osób, które mogły w zrozumiały sposób usłyszeć mówcę wygłaszającego przemówienie z dwóch mównic znajdujących się w Rzymie: podium Świątyni Bellony na Polu Marsowym (w okresie późnej republiki i późnej Augusta) oraz Świątyni Kapitolińskiej. W tym celu zbudowaliśmy wirtualne rekonstrukcje obu miejsc zgodnie z aktualnym stanem wiedzy na ich temat, biorąc pod uwagę geometrię przestrzeni, a także materiały, z których zostały zbudowane. Na tak przygotowanych modelach przeprowadziliśmy symulacje akustyczne dla trzech różnych poziomów szumu tła (36, 49 i 55 dBA), uzyskując mapy współczynnika transmisji mowy (STI). Wyniki stały się podstawą do oszacowania wielkości maksymalnego potencjalnego tłumu, który mógł słyszeć mowę w sposób zrozumiały, przy użyciu dwóch metod opartych na zachowaniu współczesnego tłumu. Następnie porównaliśmy nasze wyniki z wynikami wcześniejszych badań dotyczących innych mównic w Rzymie.Rhetoric was one of the cornerstones of Roman education and public speaking, the essence of being a Roman politician. The speakers attempted to captivate the audience with their style and convince them of their arguments. Studying the audience is therefore just as important as investigating the speakers and their speeches. The aim of this article is to estimate the number of people who could intelligibly hear a speaker delivering a speech from two speaking platforms located in the city of Rome: the podium of the Temple of Bellona in the Campus Martius (in the Late Republican and Late Augustan periods) and the Capitoline Temple. To do this, we built virtual reconstructions of both venues according to the current state of knowledge about them, taking into account the geometry of the space as well as the materials from which they were built. On the models thus prepared, we carried out acoustic simulations for three different levels of background noise (36, 49, and 55 dBA), resulting in Speech Transmission Index maps. The results became the basis upon which we estimated the size of the maximum potential crowds that could hear speech intelligibly, using two methods based on the behaviour of contemporary crowds. We further compared our results with those of previous studies that concern other speaking platforms in Rome

Zagrożenia dziedzictwa kulturowego i jego ochrona w Jordanii - analiza trzech przypadków

Artykuł podejmuje temat ochrony dziedzictwa kulturowego na terenie Jordanii. Porównano w nim zagrożenia i sposób ochrony trzech dobrze zachowanych stanowisk archeologicznych, których rozkwit przypadał na czasy rzymskie i bizanty ńskie: Umm er-Rasas, Dajaniya i Tuwaneh. Różna charakterystyka omówionych stanowisk oraz ich położenie względem współczesnego osadnictwa sprawia, że borykają się one ze zróżnicowanymi zagrożeniami, co pozwala wyciągać bardziej ogólne wnioski dotyczące ochrony dziedzictwa kulturowego w dzisiejszej Jordanii.The paper focuses on cultural heritage protection in Jordan. It analyses and compares dangers and ways of protection of three different archaeological sites dated mainly to the Roman and Byzantine periods: Umm er-Rasas, Dajaniya and Tuwaneh. Different characteristics of these sites and their location relative to modern settlements means that they are struggling with various threats. This in turn allows to draw more general conclusions regarding cultural heritage protection in modern Jordan

Temporal Analysis of Looting Activity in Tūwāneh (Southern Jordan)

Looting is a worldwide issue that occurs not only in conflict zones or areas with weak governmental control. Although national and international agencies are addressing the problem, we are far from solving it, due to its complexity and the insufficient allocation of resources. In this article, we examine the temporal and spatial patterns of looting at the single site level (Tūwāneh, southern Jordan) over the past decade. Our analysis utilized orthomosaics created in 2018 and 2019, a systematic surface survey conducted in November 2022, and publicly available satellite imagery (via Google Earth Pro) dating back to August 2013. We identified a total of 723 looting pits, of which 259 were excavated before August 2013 and 140 between August 2013 and November 2022; 324 were inconclusive due to methodological limitations. The findings suggest that looting is a persistent issue in the area, highlighting the importance of implementing effective measures to prevent the loss of archaeological heritage