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ForewordbyAleksanderBursche
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Nevertheless,inthisbooktheReaderwillfindaninterpretationcompletely
differentfromtheoriginalone,reformulatedandfullyadjustedtotheagreement
withthenewevidence.Suchanadmirableaptitudetoquicklychangeone’sviews
inthefaceofnewevidenceissomethingthatisfoundonlyinresearchersofthe
highestclass.AndthismaybethemostimportantthoughtthatIwishedtoshare
intheforewordtothisimportantcontribution.
Asignificantportionofthenewfinds,amongthemhoardsofRepublican
denariiwhicharediscussedinthepresentstudy,comefromnorth-westernUkraine.
ThesearethefruitsofaPolish-Ukrainiancooperationonthedocumentingand
interpretationofancientcoinfindsbegunin2010,andcontinuedinthecourse
ofanumberofprojects.ApartfrommanyanonymousUkrainianamateurs,
mostofthecreditinthisregardgoestoKirillMyzginoftheVasylKarazin
NationalUniversityinKharkiv,whoseseparatemonographdedicatedtothe
findsofRepublicanandEarlyImperialcoinsfromUkraineandBelaruswillbe
publishedin2017.
AmongtheUkrainianfinds,possiblythemostremarkableisaconcentration
ofcoinsfoundasmalldistanceapartbyamateurdetectoristsinthevicinityofthe
villagesofPochapyandBonyshyninL’vivoblastconsistingoffourgroupfinds
andsomesinglefindsofRepublicandenarii,ending,ifweignoretheimitations,
shortlyafterthemid-1stcentury–tobeprecise,in45BC.Thescatterofthese
findsisremarkablysimilartothatobservedatKalkriese,especiallyinearlystages
ofdiscovery,aswellasinthevicinityofthelocalityRazgradinBulgaria,the
siteoftheBattleofAbritusofAD251,equallydisastrousfortheRomansasthe
engagementintheTeutoburgerForest.Thedatelackoffindsofweaponstodate
maybeduetothefactthatmostprospectorsuseadiscriminationsettingintheir
detectorswhichrulesouttheirfindingironobjects,whicharemostlylessvaluable
thanobjectsmadeofnon-ferrousmetals.Thisissuenotwithstanding,giventhe
analogiesjustnamed,itmaybesafetoassumethattheareanearbytoday’svillage
ofPochapywasthesceneofabattlefoughtinthe40sBCnotrecordedinthe
writtensources.AsimilarlyanonymousbattlebetweentheRomansandGermans
tookplaceinAD235-236ontheslopesofHarzhorn,onthewesternedgeofthe
HarzmountainsinLowerSaxony.Inthiscasetoocoinswereoneofthefirstfinds,
andtothisdayarestilltheprincipalsourcedatingthisparticularbattle.Onthe
otherhand,itisnotunfeasiblethattheRepublicancoinfindsfromtheenvirons
ofPochapyareassociatedwiththeoperationthereofapoliticalandtradecentre
oftheDacianLipitsaCulture.Nowonder,therefore,thatthearchaeologistsfrom
L’vivdecidedsometimeagotolaunchregularfieldworkinthisarea,itsresults
yetunknown.
Thethought-provokinginterpretationspresentedinthisvolumearetheeffect
ofin-depthstudieswhicharebasedonthemostrecentlyobtainedevidence,mostof
whicharepublishedhereforthefirsttimeever.Nevertheless,wemustbereadyfor
futurediscoverieswhichmaychangeourcurrentunderstandingandinterpretations.
Discoverieswhich,liketheVespasianiccountermarkontheRepublicandenarius
