The Mercenaries’ Salary in the Mithridatic Wars: Fontalovskaia Hoard (IGCH 1143)
Journal: Materials in Archaeology History and Ethnography of Tauria
Year: 2021

A hoard of didrachmae from the Cossack village of Fontalovskaia (Krasnodar Region) is a unique homogeneous assemblage of the largest denomination of Bosporan silver coins from the Age of Mithridates VI. The results of X-ray fluorescent investigation of 480 didrachmae presented here suggest that the alloy contained only about 30–40% of the precious metal. From the find-spot of the hoard next to one of the main strategic roads controlled by the large settlement of Fontalovskaia 1, 6, the unprecede