Ten Unpublished West Semitic Bronze Weights

STUDIES IN MEMORY OF

DAN BARAG

Edited by: ROBERT DEUTSCH AND BOAZ ZISSU

THE ISRAEL NUMISMATIC JOURNAL

VOL. 18

JERUSALEM 2014

ISRAEL NUMISMATIC JOURNAL

FOUNDED BY L. KADMAN

Editorial Board: R. Deutsch, B. Zissu (editors), R. Barkay, N. Amitai-Preiss,

Y. Farhi

Style and Copy Editor: D. Stern

Proofreader: J.M. Gozlan

The publication of this issue was made possible by the generous contribution of

Dr. David and Jemima Jeselsohn, Zurich, Switzerland.

All correspondence, papers for publication and books for review should be

addressed to:

Israel Numismatic Journal, c/o Dr. Robert Deutsch, 26 Kaplan Street, Herzliya

Pituah, 46728, Israel, or to [email protected]

Copyright B Israel Numismatic Journal / Dr. Robert Deutsch

The editors are not responsible for opinions expressed by the contributors.

ISSN 1565-4079

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ISRAEL NUMISMATIC JOURNAL

VOLUME 18 2011-14

CONTENTS

9 NITZAN AMITAI-PREISS: Dan Barag – In Memoriam

10 RACHEL BARKAY: A Bibliography of Dan Barag

15 ROBERTDEUTSCHANDALANMILLARD: Ten Unpublished West Semitic

Bronze Weights

27 YIGAL RONEN: Some Unrecorded Yehud Coins

31 CATHARINEC.LORBER:An Abortive Era Under Ptolemy IV Philopator?

39 MICHAEL KRUPP: The Die Cutters of Hasmonean Coins

46 NIKOLAUS SCHINDEL: A Note on the Production of Hasmonean Coins

51 EYAL REGEV: A Comparison of the High-Priestly Coins of the

Hasmoneans with their Hellenistic Counterparts

59 RONNY REICH, DAVID AMIT AND RACHEL BAR-NATHAN: Volume-

Measuring Devices from the Late Second Temple Period

69 ANDREW BURNETT: The Coinage of Agrippa I

107 RACHEL BARKAY: The Coinage of the Nabataean King Malichus II

(40-70 CE)

122 SAMUEL ROCCA: Domitian’s Attitude towards the Jews in Light of His

Numismatic Output

146 BOAZ ZISSU, BOAZ LANGFORD, DVIR RAVIV, URI DAVIDOVICH, ROI

PORAT AND AMOS FRUMKIN: Coins from the Elqana Cave in Western

Samaria

155 DAVID HENDIN: On the Identity of Eleazar the Priest

168 EITANKLEIN: A Remark on Roman Provincial Coins Found in Refuge

Caves in the Judean Desert

173 LIOR SANDBERG: The Coinage of Eleutheropolis (Beth Guvrin) in the

Roman Period

184 YOAV FARHI AND UZI LEIBNER: Coins from the Rock Shelters and

Fortified Enclosure of Mt. Nitai, Eastern Lower Galilee

198 ZE’EV SAFRAI: Where are the Fifth-Century Coins?

209 AVNER ECKER AND TALI SHARVIT: A Byzantine Lead Seal (11th-12th

c.) from the Monastery of St. Theodosius (Deir Dosi) in the Dan Barag

Collection in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem

215 NITZAN AMITAI-PREISS: A New Umayyad Mint Rediscovered

222 NITZAN AMITAI-PREISS: An Arabic-Inscribed Lead Weight from Beth

Guvrin

224 NITZAN AMITAI-PREISS AND ARIEL BERMAN: An Unpublished, Dated

Umayyad Lead Weight

228 JOSEPH SHAHAM: A Medallion with a Moving Story

236 ACHIM LICHTENBERGER: Review of: Michael Krupp, Die

Hasmonaischen Munzen (Jerusalem, 2011).

238 LIST OF ADDRESSES OF AUTHORS

241 ABBREVIATIONS

Ten Unpublished West Semitic Bronze Weights

ROBERT DEUTSCH AND ALAN MILLARD

ZOOMORPHIC bronze weights are recorded from Late Bronze and Iron Age sites

in Israel and neighboring countries – Phoenicia, Syria, Assyria, and Egypt.1

Many more such weights are in public and private collections with unrecorded

origins.2 The weights are cast in the shape of different animals: lions, bulls, cows,

calf’s heads, bovines, monkeys, goats, gazelles, ducks, birds, fish, tortoises, frogs,

scorpions, grasshoppers, or flies. Sphinxes and hybrid creatures are also

1 Y. Yadin: Megiddo of the Kings of Israel, Biblical Archaeologist 33 (1970), pp. 66–96 (pp.

77–78: two small bronze weights, one in the shape of a goat at rest and the other of a

squatting monkey eating a fruit, both also published in Y. Yadin: Hazor: The Rediscovery

of a Great Citadel of the Bible, New York, 1975, pp. 224–226); M. Artzy: The Jatt Metal

Hoard in Northern Canaanite/Phoenician and Cypriot Context, Cuadernos de Arqueologıa

Mediterranea 14, Barcelona, pp. 45–46, 66, pl. 19 (including two crouching cows and

another example of a squatting monkey eating a fruit); A. E. Glock: Taanach, in The New

Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 4, Jerusalem, 1993, p.

1432 (bronze weight in the shape of a squatting monkey eating a fruit); H. G. May and R.

M. Engberg: Material Remains of the Megiddo Cult, Chicago, 1935, p. 34, pl. 34, nos. M

3070 and M 3032; P. L. O. Guy and R. M. Engberg: Megiddo Tombs, Chicago, 1938, pl.

128, nos. 12–13 (two bronze crouching cows); M. Aharoni: Arad, in The New

Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 1, Jerusalem, 1993,

pp. 75–87 (p. 86: bronze weight in the shape of a crouching lion); L. Stager: Ashkalon, in

The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 1, Jerusalem,

1993, pp. 103–112 (p. 109: bronze weight in the shape of a crouching calf); K. J. Birney

and E. Levine: Balance Weights, in L. E. Stager, D. M. Master, and J. D. Schloen (eds.):

Ashkelon 3, Winona Lake, IN, 2011 (pp. 476, 491: bronze weight in the shape of a

hedgehog); F. Petrie: Ancient Weights and Measures, London, 1926, p. 6, pl. IX (lions,

bovines, birds, tortoises, and frogs); F. Petrie: Gerar, London, 1928, p. 26, pl. XVII, fig. 51

(bronze crouching lion). M. Yon: The City of Ugarit at Tell Ras Shamra, Winona Lake,

IN, 2006, pp. 170–171, no. 65 (bronze crouching bull marked on the flank with two

Egyptian numerals ‘‘10’’, for a total of twenty units); J. Curtis: An Examination of Late

Assyrian Metalwork with Special Reference to Nimrud, London, 2012, pls. XLII–XLIII

(bronze weights in the form of crouching lions and ducks); C. Pulak: Selection of

Zoomorphic Weights, in J. Aruz, K. Benzel, and J. M. Evans (eds.): Beyond Babylon: Art,

Trade and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C., New York, 2008, pp. 369–371.

2 P. Bordreuil: Metropoles et Metrologies Poliades, Semitica 43–44 (1995), pp. 9–20; F.

Bron and A. Lemaire: Poids inscrits phenico-arameens du VIIIe siecle av. J.C., in Atti del I

Congresso Internazionale di Studi Fenici e Punici: Roma, 5–10 Novembre 1979, Rome,

1983, vol. 3, pp. 763–770; Y. Meshorer: Ancient Means of Exchange, Weights and Coins,

Haifa, 1998, pp. 23–24, nos. 11–20; D. Hendin: Ancient Scale Weights and Pre-Coinage

Currency of the Near East, New York, 2007, pp. 162–169.

15

recorded.3 Among the Iron Age II zoomorphic weights dated to the eighth

century BCE, there are examples carrying inscriptions in Phoenician or Aramaic

letters indicating their weight. Additional inscribed weights belonging to the same

system are geometric in shape: cubic, lentoid, or dome-shaped.4 To date, the

following twenty inscribed weights have been recorded:

1. h.msh – ‘‘five [shekels]’’ – 44.5 g, dome-shaped (Deutsch and Lemaire 2003,

fig. 29; private collection, Geneva) (table 1, no. 1)

2. || sqly h.mt – ‘‘two shekels of H. amath’’ – 26.6 g, sphinx (Bordreuil 1995, p. 13,

1; Cabinet des Medailles de la Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, no. 1972.958,

gift of Henri Seyrig) (table 1, no. 2)

3. slsh – ‘‘three’’ – 24.8 g, crouching lion (Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl. XL, fig. 9; S.

Moussaieff collection, London) (table 1, no. 4)

4. st. h.mst – ‘‘half of five [shekels?]’’ – 20.9 g (Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl. I, fig. 2;

Musee du Louvre, Paris, inv. AO 2410) (table 1, no. 5)

5. sql h.mt – ‘‘shekel of H. amath’’ – 13.3 g, dome-shaped (Bordreuil 1995, p. 13,

2; Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl. XXXIX, fig. 6; S. Moussaieff collection,

London) (table 1, no. 7)

6. sql h.mt – ‘‘shekel of H. amath’’–12.65 g, cubic (Heltzer 1995, p. 101) (table 1,

no. 8)

7. sql s.ydn / =srtn – ‘‘shekel of Sidon / twenty’’ – 11.7 g (Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl.

I, fig. 3; S. Moussaieff collection, London) (table 1, no. 9)

8. =srtn – ‘‘twenty’’ – 11.25 g, cubic (Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl. XXXIX, fig. 7; T.

Kollek collection, Jerusalem) (table 1, no. 10)

9. s 6ry sql –‘‘s 6ry? shekel’’ – 11.2 g, lentoid (Deutsch and Lemaire 2003, fig. 28;

private collection, Geneva) (table 1, no. 11)

10. slst – ‘‘three’’ or ‘‘third’’ – 10.7 g (Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl. II, fig. 4;

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, no. 1895.108) (table 1, no. 13)

11. sql qrqr – ‘‘shekel of Qarqar’’ – 9.5 g, crouching gazelle (Bordreuil 1993, p.

267, no. 231; Bordreuil 1995, p. 16, 6; private collection) (table 1, no. 14)

12. st. sql h.mt – ‘‘half a shekel of H. amath’’ – 7.6 g, dome-shaped (Bordreuil 1993,

pp. 266–267, no. 230; Bordreuil 1995, p. 15, 5; Musee du Louvre, Paris, inv.

AO 30259) (table 1, no. 17)

3 R. Giveon: Egyptian Objects in Bronze and Faience, in Y. Aharoni (ed.): Beer-Sheba, vol.

1: Excavations at Tel Beer-Sheva, 1969–1971 Seasons, Tel Aviv, 1973, pp. 54–55, pl. 23,

figs. 1–3. The cast weight (fig. 1) is a hybrid combination of the forepart of a sphinx and

the body of a winged bee. The weight was misinterpreted by Giveon as an Egyptian

figurine of the Ba, the human-headed bird (and therefore the weight of the object was not

given).

4 J. Elayi and A. G. Elayi, Recherches sur les Poids Pheniciens (Supplement n 5 a

Transeuphratene), Paris, 1997, p. 398, pl. XXXIX, fig. 7; R. Deutsch and A. Lemaire, The

Adoniram Collection of West Semitic Inscriptions, Geneva, 2003, pp. 41–44.

ROBERT DEUTSCH AND ALAN MILLARD16

13. st. sql h.mt – ‘‘half a shekel of H. amath’’–7.6 g, crouching gazelle? (Bordreuil

1993, p. 267, no. 232; Bordreuil 1995, p. 15, 4; Musee biblique de Bible et

Terre sainte (MBBTS), Paris, inv. CB 5098) (table 1, no. 18)

14. srty =srh – ‘‘twelve’’ – 7.5 g, crouching lion (Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl. XL, fig.

8; S. Moussaieff collection, London) (table 1, no. 19)

15. h. t=srh – ‘‘eleven’’ – 6.9 g, lentoid (Deutsch and Lemaire 2003, fig. 27; private

collection, Geneva) (table 1, no. 20)5

16. st. sql s.dn – ‘‘half-shekel of Sidon’’ – 6.15 g (Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl. II, fig. 5;

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford) (table 1, no. 22)

17. rb=t – ‘‘quarter [of a shekel]’’ – ? g (Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl. II, fig. 8;

antiquities market, Lebanon) (table 1, no. 25)

18. rb= sql h.mt – ‘‘quarter shekel of H. amath’’–3.3 g, fish (Bordreuil 1995, p. 14,

3; Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl. XLI, fig. 10; Moussaieff collection) (table 1, no.

26)

19. plg rb=t / sql – ‘‘half-quarter [1/8] of a shekel’’ – 2.6 g (Elayi and Elayi 1997,

pl. II, fig. 6; A. Reifenberg collection, Jerusalem) (table 1, no. 29)

20. h.ms – ‘‘five [gerah]’’– 2.5 g (Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl. II, fig. 7; H. Clark

collection, Jerusalem) (table 1, no. 30)

The above list includes nine weights with inscriptions attributing them to three

different standards: the shekel of H. amath (six specimens: nos. 2, 5, 6, 12, 13, and

18), the shekel of Sidon (two examples: nos. 7 and 16), and the shekel of Qarqar

(one: no. 11). The other eleven weights do not specify the standard but are

fractions, single units, or multiples of the three aforementioned standards.6

Unmarked weights are attributed to one of the specific standards based on their

weight.

The present article presents ten additional Phoenician and Aramean inscribed

bronze weights – four of them zoomorphic and six geometric: two monkeys, a

frog, a calf’s head, three cubes, and three domes.7

5 Bron and Lemaire (n. 2 above), table CXLV; Elayi and Elayi (n. 4 above), pp. 46–49, nos.

1–8, pls. I–II, p. 398, pls. XL–XLI (drawings on pp. 369, 377); P. Bordreuil: Poids Syriens,

in Syrie: Memoire et Civilisation, Paris, 1993, pp. 266–267.

6 A heavier shekel standard of approximately 15.6 g should also be considered (see no. 4

below).

7 The first three weights are presently in the private collection of Mr. Shlomo Moussaieff.

The first two were purchased in 2006 and the third in 2007. The weights were purchased

from three different licensed dealers from Jerusalem. The other seven weights, purchased

in the 1980s and 1990s in the Jerusalem antiquities market, are in the late Josef Chaim

Kaufman collection. Unfortunately, the exact find spots and their contexts are unknown,

so valuable information regarding the geographical provenance has been lost. Microscopic

investigation of the weights reveals severe corrosion on the surfaces and in the letters,

attesting to their unquestionable authenticity.

TEN UNPUBLISHED WEST SEMITIC BRONZE WEIGHTS 17

THE WEIGHTS

1. The first weight (fig. 1) is in the shape of a squatting monkey eating a fruit.8 A

seven-letter inscription on its back reads sqly h.mt (‘‘shekels of H. amath’’). An

unidentified character before the inscription resembling two short strokes or an

open V may indicate the numeral ‘‘two.’’ The tell of ancient H. amath lies in Syria

within the present-day city of H. ama, which preserves the name.9 Several

inscribed weights belonging to the metrological system of H. amath were

previously recorded: one of them, in the shape of a sphinx and with an identical

inscription, weighs 26.6 grams, indicating a shekel standard of 13.3 grams (table

1, no. 2). A second weight is dome-shaped and its inscription reads sql h.mt

(‘‘shekel of H. amath’’). It weighs exactly 13.3 grams (table 1, no. 7). Two weights,

one in the shape of a gazelle and the second dome-shaped, are inscribed st. sql h.mt

(‘‘half-shekel of H. amath’’) and weigh 7.6 grams, indicating a heavier shekel

standard of 15.2 grams (table 1, nos. 17–18). A fifth weight in the shape of a fish,

inscribed rb= sql h.mt (‘‘quarter-shekel of H. amath’’), weighs 3.3 grams, indicating

a shekel standard of 13.2 grams (table 1, no. 26). Because the present location of

our weight is not known, its mass has not been recorded, but one can postulate

that our monkey also weighs approximately 26.6 grams.

Fig. 1: || sqly h.mt (‘‘2 shekels of H. amath’’)

8 On monkeys in Assyria, Ammon, and Moab in the Iron Age, see R. Hunziker-Rodewald

and R. Deutsch: The Shihan Stele Reconsidered, in J. Elayi and J. M. Durand (eds.): Bible

et Proche-Orient. Melanges Andre Lemaire II (Transeuphratene 45) Paris, 2014, pp. 51-67,

pls. 6-10.

9 E. Lipinski: The Aramaeans: Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion (Orientalia

Lovaniensia Analecta, no. 100), Leuven, 2000, p. 249.

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2. The second weight (fig. 2) is also in the shape of a squatting monkey eating a

fruit. It is 25.1 mm tall and weighs 14.4 grams. The inscription on its back reads

sql (‘‘shekel’’), and on the base is the Egyptian hieroglyph ankh, the key of life.

The 14.4-gram shekel is heavier than the shekels of H. amath (13.3/12.65 g), of

Sidon (11.7 g), and of Qarqar (9.5 g), (table 1, nos. 7, 8, 9, 14). The attribution of

the weight to a specific metrological system may be indicated by the Egyptian or

Egyptianized hieroglyphic character ankh engraved on its base.10

Fig. 2: sql (‘‘shekel’’)

3. The third weight (fig. 3) is in the shape of a frog with a scorpion incised on its

back (2.8 g, 14.0 T 7.8 mm). A two-line inscription engraved on the base reads

plg =sr (‘‘half of ten’’). The inscription is identical to that on the lentoid weight no.

9 (below), which weighs 3.1 grams.11

10 The hieroglyphic character indicates Egyptian influence, yet no specific metrological

system can be suggested at the present state of research.

11 The term plg (‘‘half’’) of a ‘‘quarter’’ or of ‘‘ten’’ is comparable to the Hebrew jar

inscription from Tel Malh. ata: ‘‘half of quarter glt ...,’’ i.e., an eighth (I. Beit-Arieh and S.

Ah. ituv: Half Quarter glt – An Inscription from Tel Malh. ata, Eretz-Israel 30 [2011], pp.

73–76).

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The surprising shape of this weight may refer to a fable derived from an earlier

story by an unknown author and preserved in variants told by Aesop.12 The story

is also attested in the fifth-century Babylonian Talmud13 and later sources. The

existence of this weight attests to the antiquity of the fable. The weight dates to

the eighth century BCE, long before Aesop, the traditional inventor of the fable,

told it in the fifth century BCE.

Fig. 3: plg =sr (‘‘half of ten’’)

4. The fourth weight (fig. 4) is in the shape of a calf’s head with the words plg sql

(‘‘half shekel’’) inscribed on the base (7.8 g, 15.0 T 9.5 mm). The inscription is

identical to that on the cubic weight no. 6 (below). The weight belongs to a heavy

shekel standard of approximately 15.6 grams.

Fig. 4: plg sql (‘‘half-shekel’’)

12 A frog was asked by a scorpion to carry him over a river. The frog, afraid of being stung

while swimming, was assured by the scorpion that in such a case both would sink and

drown. The frog agreed to help the scorpion, but the scorpion stung the frog midway.

When asked why, the scorpion replied that it is his nature. See L. Gibbs: Aesop’s Fables: A

New Translation by Laura Gibbs, Oxford, 2002, pp. 72–73 (fables 139–140, ‘‘The Frog and

the Mouse’’) and pp. 203–204 (fable 440, ‘‘The Farmer and the Frozen Viper’’), both

having the same moral that kindness to an evil person will be repaid by betrayal.

13 BT Nedarim 41a.

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5. The fifth weight (fig. 5) is cubic and inscribed s 6ry sql (‘‘rest? of a shekel’’).14

An identical inscription is found on a lentoid bronze weight of 11.2 grams

(Deutsch and Lemaire 2003, fig. 28; table 1, no. 11).

Fig. 5: s 6ry sql (‘‘rest? of a shekel’’)

6. The sixth weight (fig. 6) is also cubic (8.2 g, 11.8 T 10.1 T 7.9 mm). The

inscription, which reads plg sql (‘‘half-shekel’’), is identical to that on the

zoomorphic weight no. 4, which weighs almost the same: 7.8 g (above). The

weight belongs to a heavy shekel standard of approximately 16.4 grams.

Fig. 6: plg sql (‘‘shekel’’)

7. The seventh weight (fig. 7) is also cubic and is inscribed =sr (‘‘ten’’), indicating10 gerah (6.2 g, 10.7 T 9.3 T 7.2 mm). If a shekel comprises 20 gerah, then the

weight is equal to half a shekel, representing a shekel of approximately 12.4

grams. If, however, a shekel comprises 24 gerah, then our weight represents a

heavy shekel of approximately 14.9 grams. The former possibility is less probable

because if ten represented half, we would expect the use of the term plg.

14 The weight surfaced on the antiquities market in Jerusalem and its present location is not

recorded. Its measurements and weight are not recorded either.

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Fig. 7: =sr (‘‘ten’’)

8. The eighth weight (fig. 8) is lentoid (5.7 g, 14.2 T 6.2 mm) and is inscribed

h. t=srh (‘‘eleven’’). The final letter h has been damaged by wear. Eleven gerah out

of twenty-four indicates a shekel of 12.4 grams. The inscription is identical to

that on a lentoid bronze weight of 6.9 grams (Deutsch and Lemaire 2003, fig. 27,

private collection, Geneva; table 1, no. 20). The difference between 6.9 and 5.7

grams is too great to be explained by corrosion or wear of use; therefore we have

to assume that they belong to two different systems, a lighter shekel and a heavier

one, despite the typological similarity.15

Fig. 8: h. t=srh (‘‘eleven’’), altered

9. The ninth weight (fig. 9) is also lentoid (3.1 g, 12.6 T 4.8 mm) and is inscribed

plg =sr (‘‘half of ten’’). The inscription is identical to that on weight no. 3 above, in

the form of a frog with an incised scorpion on its back. The two specimens (nos. 3

15 Another possible explanation for the difference in weight between two typologically

identical weights bearing the same inscription (which indicates the same value) may be the

lack of a supervised standard, or even an alteration of the weight by a merchant.

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and 9) weigh almost the same (2.8 and 3.1 g, respectively). The slight difference in

this case can be attributed to use or erosion. Both weights are fractions of the

same shekel standard of approximately 12.4 grams.

Fig. 9: plg =sr (‘‘half of ten’’)

10. The tenth weight (fig. 10) is dome-shaped (4.9 g, 12.2 T 6.6 mm) and is

inscribed rb=t (‘‘quarter’’). The weight belongs to a significantly heavier shekel

standard of 19.6 grams, slightly lighter than that of the 2.6-gram tortoise weight

(table 1, no. 29) that is inscribed plg rb=t / sql (‘‘half of a quarter-shekel’’).

Fig. 10: rb=t (‘‘quarter’’)

The place names on some weights indicate their origins: H. amath (table 1, nos. 2,

3, 7, 8, 17, 18, 26), Qarqar (table 1, no. 14) and Sidon (table 1, nos. 9, 22). The

letters on the first two fit in easily with the Aramaic writing of the eighth century

BCE, and those on the last with the Phoenician, but clearly distinctive forms are

lacking. Some other weights may be ascribed tentatively to particular regions on

paleographic grounds, although the lack of provenance is one uncertainty, the

brevity of the inscriptions is a second, and the difficulty of engraving on small,

often curved, surfaces is a third. A majority of the letters on the weights in

general can be classed as Aramaic. Three of the weights published here may show

characteristics of the Hebrew script, although, given the difficulties outlined, they

should not be described as such without qualification. No. 4 has a p with a

descender that curves towards the left at the bottom; the y in no. 5 leans towards

the right (unlike the y of table 1, no. 11, which has the same

inscription ); on no. 10 the b has a clockwise rotation. Accordingly,

we call this collection of weights ‘‘West Semitic.’’

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Table 1: Phoenician or Aramaic inscribed zoomorphic

and geometric bronze weights

Legend Form Weight

(g)

Shekel

(g)

Collection Publication

1 h.msh Dome 44.5 8.9 Private coll., Geneva Deutsch and Lemaire 2003,

fig. 29

2 sqly h.mt Sphinx 26.6 13.3 BN 1972.958 (H. Seyrig) Bordreuil 1995, p. 13, 1

3 || sqly h.mt Monkey ? ? S. Moussaieff, London No. 1 here

4 slsh Lion 24.8 8.26 S. Moussaieff, London Elayi and Elayi 1997, p.

398, pl. XL, fig. 9

5 st. h.mst Lion 20.9 ? Louvre, AO 2410 Elayi and Elayi 1997, pp.

46–47, pl. I, fig. 2

6 sql Monkey 14.4 14.4 S. Moussaieff, London No. 2 here

7 sql h.mt Dome 13.3 13.3 S. Moussaieff, London Bordreuil 1995, p. 13, 2;

Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl.

XXXIX, fig. 6

8 sql h.mt Cube 12.65 12.65 Eretz Israel Museum,

Tel Aviv

Heltzer 1995, p. 101

9 sql s.ydn /

=srtnTortoise 11.7 11.7 S. Moussaieff, London Elayi and Elayi 1997, p. 47,

pl. I, fig. 3

10 =srtn Cube 11.25 11.25 T. Kollek, Jerusalem Elayi and Elayi 1997, p.

398, pl. XXXIX, fig. 7

11 s 6ry sql Lentoid 11.2 11.2? Private coll., Geneva Deutsch and Lemaire 2003,

fig. 28

12 s 6ry sql Cubic ? ? C. Kaufman, Tel Aviv No. 5 here

13 slst Gazelle 10.7 ? A s hm o l e a n Mu s .

1895.108

Elayi and Elayi 1997, p. 47,

pl. II, fig. 4

14 sql qrqr Gazelle 9.5 9.5 Private collection Bordreuil 1993, p. 267, no.

231; Bordreuil 1995, p. 16,

6

15 plg sql Cube 8.2 16.4 C. Kaufman, Tel Aviv No. 6 here

16 plg sql Calf’s head 7.8 15.6 C. Kaufman, Tel Aviv No. 4 here

17 st. sql h.mt Dome 7.6 ? Louvre, AO 30259 Bordreuil 1993, pp. 266–

267, no. 230; Bordreuil

1995, p. 15, 5

18 st. sql h.mt Gazelle? 7.6 ? MBBTS Paris, CB 5098 Bordreuil 1993, p. 267, no.

232; Bordreuil 1995, p. 15,

4

19 srty =srh Lion 7.5 ? S. Moussaieff, London Elayi and Elayi 1997, p.

398, pl. XL, fig. 8

20 h. t=srh Lentoid 6.9 ? Private coll., Geneva Deutsch and Lemaire 2003,

fig. 27

21 =sr Cube 6.2 12.4 C. Kaufman, Tel Aviv No. 7 here

22 st. sql s.dn Calf’s head 6.15 12.3? Ashmolean Mus. Elayi and Elayi 1997, pp.

47–48, pl. II, fig. 5

23 h. t=srh Lentoid 5.7 ? C. Kaufman, Tel Aviv No. 8 here

24 rb=t Dome 4.9 19.6 C. Kaufman, Tel Aviv No. 10 here

25 rb=t Tortoise ? ? Antiquities market,

Lebanon


pl. II, fig. 8


Table 1 (continued)

Legend Form Weight

(g)

Shekel

(g)

Collection Publication

26 rb= sql h.mt Fish 3.3 13.2 S. Moussaieff, London Bordreuil 1995, p. 14, 3;

Elayi and Elayi 1997, pl.

XLI, fig. 10

27 plg =sr Lentoid 3.1 12.4 C. Kaufman, Tel Aviv No. 9 here

28 plg =sr Frog 2.8 11.2 S. Moussaieff, London No. 3 here

29 plg rb=t / sql Tortoise 2.6 20.8 A. Reifenberg,

Jerusalem


pl. II, fig. 6

30 h.ms Tortoise 2.5 10.0 H. Clark, Jerusalem Elayi and Elayi 1997, pp.

48–49, pl. II, fig. 7

Totals: 4 tortoises, 3 lions, 3 gazelles, 2 monkeys, 2 calf’s heads, a frog, a fish, and a sphinx; 4 dome-

shaped, 4 cubic, and 4 lentoid.

Table 2: The paleography of the ten inscribed bronze weights6 b g h h. y l m = p q r s t

1|| sqly h.mt

2

sql

3

plg =sr

4

plg sql

5

s6ry sql

6

plg sql

7

=sr

8

h. t=srh

9

plg =sr

10

rb=t


REFERENCES

Bordreuil 1993 = P. Bordreuil: Poids Syriens, in Syrie: Memoire et Civilisation,

Paris, 1993, pp. 266–267.

Bordreuil 1995 = P. Bordreuil: Metropoles et Metrologies Poliades, Semitica 43–

44 (1995), pp. 9–20.

Deutsch and Lemaire 2003 = R. Deutsch and A. Lemaire: The Adoniram

Collection of West Semitic Inscriptions, Geneva, 2003.

Elayi and Elayi 1997 = J. Elayi and A. G. Elayi: Recherches sur les Poids

Pheniciens (Supplement n˚ 5 a Transeuphratene), Paris, 1997.

Heltzer 1995 = M. Heltzer: Phoenician Trade and Phoenicians in Hamath, in K.

van Lerberghe and A. Schoors (eds.): Immigration and Emigration within the

Ancient Near East: Festschrift E. Lipinski (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta,

no. 65), Leuven, 1995, pp. 101–105.


Documents

Ten Unpublished West Semitic Bronze Weights