KM 69311: Obverse of coin issued by the emperor Diocletian in AD 297
Head of Diocletian
Terenouthis, Egypt
This coin was found in the burial of Sarapous along with the other objects.** It is a bronze Roman coin dating to AD 297. The coin has a picture of the emperor Diocletian on one side of it, indicating Diocletian was ruler at the time the coin was minted. The coin could have been placed in Sarapous' tomb as fare to pay the ferryman Charon to carry her into the underworld. This idea comes from the Greco-Roman belief that the deceased needed to pay to cross the River Styx. The bronze coin also allows us to date the burial. From it we know that Sarapous was buried sometime after AD 297 when the coin was minted. Exactly how long after that time, we cannot be certain, but the coin narrows down the time period of Sarapous' death and burial.
**Please note: this "assemblage" was created solely for educational purposes. While all of the objects discussed here were excavated at the site of Terenouthis, it must be emphasized that they were not found in a single tomb. A full explanation of this class project is found on the introductory page for this website.
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