Recycled Byzantine silver powered Europe’s 7th-century Revival

Before France monopolized European coin production under Charlemagne, the wealthiest members of the continent’s medieval societies may have melted down valuable Byzantine artifacts for legal tender.

The results of the analysis, conducted by British and Dutch researchers, were published today in a journal. ancient, a collection of ancient coins used throughout northwest Europe at least 1,200 years ago was found to be made from recycled Byzantine silver. They say this is a discovery that sheds light on trade and geopolitics in the 7th century.

The origin of the metal stock was revealed through lead isotope analysis of some British, Dutch and French coins. Coins minted using silver from Mel, north of Bordeaux, have previously been evaluated, but a new study seeks to trace the composition of these particular pennies held by the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. And so. The coins were minted between 660 and 750 AD.

The ratio of silver to other trace elements provided the first clues about the origin of about half of the coins of England, Francia (present-day France), and Frisia (present-day Netherlands and northwest Germany).

The composition of these coins is more in line with Byzantine metals than Roman silver, and although previous researchers have described it as the “low-point” of trade, it was a common occurrence between northwestern Europe and the Byzantine Empire. This suggests that a trade route between them had been in the works for quite some time.

“British and French elites were almost certainly already sitting on this silver,” says study co-author Rory Naismith, professor of early medieval English history at the University of Cambridge. “Very famous examples of this include the silver bowls found at Sutton Hoo and the ornate silver objects in the Staffordshire Treasury.

“This was a very exciting discovery. I proposed a Byzantine origin 10 years ago, but I couldn’t prove it. Now we know that Byzantine silver dates back to the 7th century around the North Sea. For the first time, we have archaeological confirmation that it was the main source behind a huge surge in minting and trade.”

According to the University of Cambridge, the Sutton Hoo collection weighs around 10kg and, if melted down, could yield a 10,000 penny coin like the one analyzed in the new study.

Study co-author Jane Kershaw, an Oxford University archaeologist who specializes in the silver economy of northwestern Europe, expects these coins to emerge in the mid-to-late 7th century.^th The century would have been one in response to major social changes.

“This beautiful prestige, [Byzantine] Goods would only be melted down if the king or lord urgently needed a large amount of cash. “There must have been some major social change going on,” Kershaw says.

“This was ‘quantitative easing’ and the elites were liquidating resources and pumping more and more money into circulation. It would have had a huge impact on people’s lives. More about money than before. There would have been more money-based activities involving far more parts of society.”

Changes in the origins of silver indicate power relations in Europe

The composition of 29 coins from 660 to 750 AD suggested Byzantine silver, but the origins of another 20 coins minted in the subsequent 70 years suggest the introduction of a new “silver stock”. Suggests – researchers suggest that perhaps it’s from Mele mine in France.

Naismith said this sudden rise in the price of Mele silver was indicative of the rise of Frankish power under the Carolingians from mid-1888.^th This century was most markedly marked by the reign of Charlemagne. His rise to prominence is thought to be due to the spread of mele silver throughout the northwestern European region surveyed as part of his research.

“Britain seems to have accepted silver in melee form, and initially refined it using British lead,” they note. “The spread of mele silver should be interpreted as the result of a conscious administrative decision, and has important implications for understanding how silver was distributed within the Carolingian Empire.”

According to Naismith, this also happened in Charlemagne’s relationship with King Offa of Mercia (a British state in the modern English midlands).

“There was a lot of communication and tension between Charlemagne and Offa,” says Naismith. “Ofa wasn’t in the same league, his kingdom was much smaller, less powerful to rule, and certainly didn’t have as much silver. But he had a lot of power in Europe, which was outside of Charlemagne’s control. remained one of the most powerful men. So they maintained a semblance of equality. Our findings further strengthen the power relationship that Britain and France have had for a very long time.”