1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:06,240 Today, I will be delivering this presentation  on behalf of my co-authors Dr. Tim Penn, 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:11,680 Professor Damian Robinson and Franck Goodio on  the lead tokens which have recently come up 3 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:16,560 from underwater excavations of a former  temple of Isis on the royal island of 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:23,760 Antirhodos in Alexandria which collapsed into  the sea and was rediscovered by the IEASM, 5 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:29,520 the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology in the  1990s who have subsequently been excavating it 6 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:35,280 with the support of the Hilti Foundation. While  the temple from which these objects have come is 7 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:41,520 in many ways remarkable, producing a whole array of  material culture and this has just been published 8 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:47,440 by professor Robinson and Mr. Goddio, the lead tokens  from this temple represent a unique and important 9 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:53,840 assemblage in the study of the material culture  of the Graeco-Roman period in Egypt. Lead tokens 10 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:59,360 are an understudied element of Egyptian material  culture, because few have been published and fewer 11 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:05,520 can be associated with detailed contexts. And  this article presents for the first time a large 12 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:11,120 and important new assemblage of lead tokens with  contextual information from the temple of Isis 13 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:18,400 in Alexandria. It therefore represents the largest  provenanced collection of tokens from Roman Egypt, 14 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:24,080 considerably adding to the study of this  historically underexamined object type. Its 15 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:29,120 provenance from a modern excavation also allows  us to explore the contextual data around tokens 16 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:34,240 to a much greater degree, shedding light on the  possible role and function of tokens within the 17 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:41,920 sanctuary and more widely the function of tokens  in Roman Egypt in general. We came to the 18 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:47,280 conclusion that these lead tokens were probably  not used as substitution coinage which has 19 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:52,480 been the most widely accepted argument around  their function but they rather seem to relate 20 00:01:52,480 --> 00:02:02,400 to a function within the sanctuary itself either  as votives or possibly as banqueting tokens. 21 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:09,840 Okay, I'm just going to give a brief overview of  the current state of knowledge about lead tokens 22 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:16,160 because you may not have necessarily encountered  these objects before. And as you can see from the 23 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:22,080 first picture on this slide, they are typically  circular monetiform, which means they resemble 24 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:28,640 coinage, but they are usually made of lead for  the most part in Egypt. They are similar in size, 25 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:34,000 shape, and motif choices to coinage, but certainly  not identical. And here lies an important 26 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:39,840 distinction. Although Ptolemaic coinage, for example,  could occasionally have a very high lead content, 27 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:45,440 the tokens appear to be exclusively made of  lead, not in other materials such as bronze. 28 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:50,880 They also lack the typical legends that we  find on coinage and they also don't follow 29 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:57,520 consistent weight standard nor do they feature the  imperial or sovereign ruler portraits which are 30 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:03,840 quite a definitive feature of coinage. Their  usage in Egypt appears to be mostly attested 31 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:08,960 from the Roman imperial period, although there  are a few instances which may suggest earlier 32 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:15,280 usage and indeed elsewhere in the Mediterranean,  they are already used by the Hellenistic period as 33 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:22,240 in Athens and Greece. At the moment there are  around 600 published tokens from Egypt in the 34 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:28,480 existing literature of which however only a  fraction come from provenanced contexts and 35 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:34,320 even those are largely from rubbish dumps. So  they are not in their primary use context. The 36 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:41,120 largest assemblage of tokens with an excavation  context come from Roman Oxyrhynchus which you 37 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:49,680 can see here on the map. But these are again from  rubbish contexts. And on this map you can observe 38 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:55,920 the different attestations of tokens in Egypt  with most coming from middle Egypt tombs but 39 00:03:55,920 --> 00:04:02,480 also some from tombs and temple contexts. We  also note on this map that there was previously 40 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:09,040 only a single token attested from the delta  from Aboukir Bay. So the addition of this new 41 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:14,160 material will radically change the look of  this map. And you can now see here that the 42 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:21,280 largest cluster is in fact from Alexandria. And  in fact there's another group of the same size 43 00:04:21,280 --> 00:04:29,360 which has been found at Thonis-Heracleion  which will be the subject of future work. 44 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:36,240 And just to give a brief impression of the  context where the tokens were found, they 45 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:43,280 come from the Iseum which you can see here on this  map of the Portus Magnus in Alexandria. And we have 46 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:50,640 the large harbor basin with the Pharos lighthouse  somewhere on the left. And we have an island 47 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:56,880 in the middle of the harbor, which was called  Antirhodos Island with a temple of Isis which has 48 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:03,920 been excavated by the IEASM on the island. And this  island was set to have housed a royal palace with 49 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:10,320 a small harbor and appears to have been a private  reserve of the Ptolemies up until the Roman conquest. 50 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:18,160 And this is exactly where the temple of Isis is  located here circled in red. The island and 51 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:22,560 many of the other structures on the map are today  underwater following a combination of different 52 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:28,640 factors including natural sea level rise but also  catastrophic events which affected the stability 53 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:34,640 of the soil. They were reidentified following  extensive surveying of the seafloor which revealed 54 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:40,560 the ancient contours of the island. Excavation  then revealed a series of building remains which 55 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:46,240 appear to have collapsed into the sea south  of Antirhodos Island. And it's from this material 56 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:51,040 that the tokens have been identified mixed with  building remains and other objects which appear 57 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:56,640 to have belonged to the temple formally. The  temple was identified as belonging to Isis 58 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:02,560 based on a series of finds including  this very well preserved statue of a priest 59 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:09,120 bearing Osiris Canopus which appears to have been  located towards the inner sanctuary of the temple. 60 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:15,600 And here we have a closeup resolution of  the material from the temple and its former 61 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:20,720 position on the island. The temple appears  to have collapsed laterally into the sea, 62 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:25,520 but finds which fell into the water still mirror  the positioning of objects on land. We can see 63 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:30,400 a large cluster of red granite columns from  the entrance of the temple to the far left, 64 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:35,440 followed by lots of limestone blocks from  the temple building itself, which is also 65 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:41,600 mixed with architectural decor, suggesting that  this was a Greekstyle building fronted by two 66 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:47,280 rows of four granite columns. Among this debris of  collapsed material were also the remains of wall 67 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:53,120 paintings of Pompeian first style which suggests  that the temple underwent extensive redecoration 68 00:06:53,120 --> 00:07:01,360 in the Augustan period. The tokens here marked in gray on this map were spread out across 69 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:06,800 the entire temple building it seems with large  clusters particularly towards the entrance and 70 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:12,640 the very rear of the building following largely  the outline of where the treasury may have been. 71 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:17,920 Numerous coin finds were also among the finds from  the temple attesting to the riches and wealth of 72 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:22,960 the sanctuary which in addition to the ceramic  finds from the temple also help us follow the 73 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:28,640 chronology of the building and its collapse into  the sea. They suggest that the temple had been 74 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:34,320 constructed towards the end of the Ptolemaic period,  was redecorated and actively used in the early 75 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:40,560 imperial period and likely collapsed during the  reign of Claudius. Since the tokens form part 76 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:46,720 of the strata of collapse debris, this gives us a  terminus ante quem for their usage, meaning that they 77 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:52,640 must have been largely produced and used before  the end of Claudius's reign. 78 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:58,480 Now moving on to our discussion of the  tokens themselves. Here we have some 79 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:03,840 illustrations of the tokens and what they look  like. Just to explain, the tokens are in lead, 80 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:08,560 which is great anyway. But the images here  are also in black and white. And these are 81 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:13,520 just not not normal photographs. They  are in fact RTI images which stands for 82 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:19,440 reflectance transformation imaging, which helps  us better identify the details of these small 83 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:26,640 objects which can be extremely difficult to see  because lead is so malleable and have been 84 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:32,720 the objects have been heavily weathered in  many cases. Sometimes the detail can be very 85 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:39,360 crisp and clear as you can see towards the  mid left but other times the motif depicted 86 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:45,040 is only barely legible. So these RTI images  gives us an overview of the different states 87 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:50,800 of preservation which we encountered among  the material among which some were completely 88 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:57,680 illeible. And in some cases there was also  clearly a motif visible but we weren't able to 89 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:02,960 identify the motif with certainty. In part, it  may be the case that we need more familiarity 90 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:10,560 with numismatic motifs and motifs on other small  objects such as gemstones and intaglios, but in part 91 00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:15,920 this is also the nature of the tokens which are  not restricted in their iconography to numismatic 92 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:23,360 motifs and are more cryptic by nature anyway  because they don't have identifying legends. 93 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:31,520 Now breaking down the iconography of the tokens  a little bit here we have a distribution chart 94 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:38,960 of some 178 examples which were actually legible  because many were not sufficiently well preserved 95 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:44,800 and the clear majority of the tokens depict the  syncretic cult imagery of the Graeco-Roman period. 96 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:51,680 This is figures like Serapis who is a composite of  various Greek and Egyptian cults and also Osiris, 97 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:59,280 the Apis bull, Hades and Zeus. 47 of the tokens  displayed fully classical imagery such as Athena 98 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:04,880 and the Dioskouroi. While 19 depicted more  traditional Egyptian motifs such as animals 99 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:11,600 wearing solar discs in front of offering tables.  But as we can see here, the Egyptian motifs were 100 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:17,280 definitely a much smaller group, clearly pointing  to the strong Greek influence on the sanctuary, 101 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:22,080 which is to be expected given its location  in Alexandria and is part of the Ptolemaic royal 102 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:29,440 quarters. Now, further breaking down the  iconography of the tokens based on specific 103 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:36,160 motifs, Nilus, the personification of the Nile,  was by far the most recurring motif. He was shown 104 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:41,840 in a number of different ways. Most commonly as a  bearded half figure reclining with a cornucopia in 105 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:47,200 one hand, a bare chest and a variety of different  attributes in the other hand, but always in a 106 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:51,920 stylistically Greek manner as opposed to the  Egyptian pharaonic personification of the Nile, 107 00:10:51,920 --> 00:11:00,400 which is the god Hapy. He is often shown with  aquatic plants like papyrus or lotus on his head 108 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:06,640 and sometimes holding offerings of food. At other  times, a Nilus was shown as a full reclining figure, 109 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:12,160 sometimes on top of a crocodile, and in other  tokens, he's shown simply as a bust. His female 110 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:17,600 companion, Euthenia, was also represented a number  of times, although much less often than Nilus, 111 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:23,680 similarly shown reclining with a cornucopia.  The second most common motif was Serapis, 112 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:28,240 shown either as a bearded bust wearing a  grain modios or as a full enthroned figure, 113 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:35,440 also with a grain modius. Other recurring motifs  included Zeus-Amon, the Agathodaemon, animal figures, 114 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:40,560 inanimate motifs such as ships and buildings  with some of the tokens possibly depicting 115 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:46,320 the temple itself. Worth noting here is that  this chart however refers to the number of 116 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:54,640 identified motifs which is not equal  to the number of tokens nor of legible tokens. 117 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:03,120 So reflecting on this breakdown of the  iconography, we've seen from the charts 118 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:07,680 that most of the tokens depict religious  iconography, particularly the syncretic 119 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:12,720 deities of the Greco Roman period. First and  foremost, the personification of the Nile River, 120 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:21,520 Nilus, with another example of Nilus on the tokens  being shown here in the left of the screen. And 121 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:26,320 I want to explore a little bit why this subject  may have been so popular in what was likely 122 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:33,280 a sanctuary of Isis as sanctuaries  of Nilus are relatively uncommon in this period. 123 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:39,200 Firstly, both Isis and her male companion Sarapis-  Osiris became heavily associated with the Nile 124 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:44,560 flood. Both being fertility figures with Isis  becoming increasingly identified as the foreign 125 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:52,400 solar goddess whose return to Egypt brings with it  the fertile life-giving Nile flood. Osiris as the 126 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:58,160 husband of Isis was also connected to the rising  of the Nile flood as some myths link the blood 127 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:04,560 slain during the murder of Osiris with the rising  of the Nile flood. Nilus as the personification 128 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:10,720 of the Nile flood is already depicted as a motif  on Hellenistic coinage though mostly only in his 129 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:17,760 bust form. In the imperial period, particularly in  the first to second century CE, this motif becomes 130 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:24,640 extremely popular on coinage in Alexandria. The  popularity of this imagery further extends in the 131 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:31,760 area around Alexandria. And we can see here on the  left one of the most beautiful finds of the IEASM 132 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:40,400 which was a tondo of the god Nilus in a very  fine greystone called greywacke at Canopus some 133 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:46,800 30 kilometers to the east of Alexandria. And this  association of Nilos with the cults of Isis and 134 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:52,720 Sarapis further extended into the Mediterranean  beyond Egypt as is attested by the wall painting 135 00:13:52,720 --> 00:14:00,240 which you can see here on the right, where we  see Nilus together with Isis shown seated. The 136 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:06,080 role of Nile water appears to have been crucial  during both Isaic and Serapic rights of the period 137 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:11,120 with cult followers supposedly going so far as  to even import Nile water into Italy for their 138 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:17,120 rituals. Moreover, a recurring feature of Isis  and Sarapis sanctuaries for this period is the 139 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:22,080 presence of Nilometers with the level of the Nile  and its flood being important features for the 140 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:28,720 cult. Evidently then there was a strong connection  between the cult of Nilus who is the most commonly 141 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:35,520 depicted motif on the tokens and the cults of  Isis and Sarapis in the Greco Roman period hinting 142 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:41,440 perhaps at a religious rather than a secular  or mundane function of these objects. We will 143 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:51,200 now explore the possible function of the tokens  within the sanctuary of Isis here in Alexandria. 144 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:56,560 So previously lead tokens in Egypt were  primarily interpreted as substitute 145 00:14:56,560 --> 00:15:01,760 currency. This hypothesis started with some  of the earliest studies of these objects 146 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:08,640 undertaken by the numismatist Milne who published  several important groups of tokens from Egypt. 147 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:14,000 And he seems to have based this hypothesis on  two main strands of evidence. First of course 148 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:19,360 the coin-like appearance of many of the tokens  which are disc shaped and bare images on the 149 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:25,520 obverse and reverse like coins. Secondly, the  presence of lead tokens in rubbish dumps at 150 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:33,120 Oxyrhynchus in contexts where coins are rare  between 180 to 260 CE. and taken together, 151 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:39,120 Milne concluded that these finds filled in the  numismatic gap in which coins were scarce. 152 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:45,840 This interpretation has been largely accepted  in the relevant literature but was recently 153 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:54,000 challenged by Denise Wilding in her 2020 thesis  on tokens which argued that firstly many lead tokens 154 00:15:54,000 --> 00:16:00,480 from Egypt do not conform to standard numismatic  conventions and often they actually feature two 155 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:07,200 obverse designs such as portraits or two reverse  designs. We also note that imperial portraits 156 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:13,520 which are an important feature of coinage  are largely absent from tokens. Secondly, 157 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:18,800 there are lead tokens from other contexts which  are also dated to earlier periods when coins were 158 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:24,320 not so obviously scarce as is indeed the case  for the tokens from the Iseum in Alexandria, which 159 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:31,680 are earlier in date than the numismatic gap  of Milne and are in fact associated with abundant 160 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:39,200 coinage. And thirdly, since Roman coinage under  the early empire adhered to Ptolemaic standards, 161 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:45,360 we might expect that any lead substitute coinage  would follow this lead standard. However, 162 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:49,760 when graphed according to weight and diameters,  this doesn't seem to be the case. There doesn't 163 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:55,840 seem to be a clear weight standard, which  you can see from this rather scattered plot. 164 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:02,720 Moreover, I would like to point out that here we  have the largest assemblage of provenanced tokens 165 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:08,720 coming from a variety of different sanctuaries  both from the temple of Isis. There were also 166 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:15,680 quite a few from the temple of Posidon also in the  Portus Magnus and also excavated by the IEASM. And 167 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:22,960 there's another group of some 450 lead tokens from  the sanctuary of Amun in Thonis-Heracleion. While 168 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:28,880 a substantial number of tokens were found in the  rubbish dumps in Oxyrhynchus, we have here actually 169 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:34,800 doubled this number, all coming from sanctuaries,  pointing perhaps rather to a relationship with 170 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:40,800 those sanctuaries than use in daily life.  However, we need to of course also consider 171 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:48,480 that the tokens are highly portable, so they  could end up in all sorts of secondary contexts. 172 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:51,120 If there remains the notable  contextual relationship between 173 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:54,080 the tokens and religious settings, this leads us 174 00:17:54,080 --> 00:18:02,560 on to explore an alternative idea that  the tokens perhaps served as votives. 175 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:06,960 And an important case study which may help  illuminate the function of lead tokens in Egypt 176 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:15,280 are the tokens from Qasr Ibrim now in Sudan which  were found together with coins around a plinth 177 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:21,120 which is likely to have held the statue of  a deity and the objects around it appear to 178 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:27,040 have been deposited in a non haphazard manner  and were still in situ. And in this respect, 179 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:32,160 it's also worth noting that coins were used as  relatives in sanctuaries, especially in Greece 180 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:39,120 and potentially also in Egypt, as we may hear  from this passage in Pausanias, which suggests 181 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:45,040 that coins may have been used as votives in  reference to an Apis sanctuary at Memphis. So 182 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:50,560 it's conceivable that the tokens could have indeed  acted as a form of substitution for coinage but 183 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:57,520 not so much for commercial transactions than as  votives in the religious domain and indeed 184 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:03,520 at the Serapeum which is probably the sanctuary  that Pausanias refers to in Memphis lead tokens 185 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:10,560 were found. Similarly, in the so-called best  chambers at Saqqara near the Memphite Serapeum 186 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:15,360 which appear to have also been cult  installations, several lead tokens 187 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:21,040 featuring a bull on the obverse and Serapis on the  reverse were found with a range of votive objects. 188 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:26,240 Furthermore, the discovery of the lead tokens  from the Iseum mixed with animal bones and 189 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:31,120 coins would fit a votive context with the  animal bones possibly deriving from sacrifice 190 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:38,880 or feasting, the coins as possible votives  or as part of the treasury of the temple. 191 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:43,440 An alternative possibility is however that  the tokens were used as banqueting or festival 192 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:48,400 tickets, a phenomenon which is attested in other  other parts of the ancient world. For example, 193 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:54,560 in Palmyra, tokens are attested as banqueting  tickets based on inscribed invitations, 194 00:19:54,560 --> 00:20:00,640 often alongside depictions of reclining priests.  Unfortunately, the tokens from Alexandria are 195 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:06,240 not so explicit and they lack inscriptions  of the kind attested at Palmyra. However, 196 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:11,760 we know that religious banqueting was an important  phenomenon for the Greco Roman period in Egypt. 197 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:17,920 The papyrological evidence references to banqueting  at the Serapeum and at the sanctuary of Athena 198 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:23,520 Theeris at Oxyrhynchus, which is in fact the site  where the largest collection of lead tokens was 199 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:31,760 found, otherwise. Lead tokens from Egypt bear  inscriptions that may refer to the Agoranomoy, 200 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:35,920 paralleling tokens from Athens, where they  have been linked to religious banquetss 201 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:41,760 in recent scholarship. Religious festivals  such as the Ptolemaia and Nile flood festivals 202 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:46,720 also heavily involved banqueting and  feasting as recounted by Callixenus of 203 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:53,120 Rhodes' description of the elaborate feasting  during the procession of Ptolemy II. Similarly, 204 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:57,840 this scene from the Palestrina mosaic has  been interpreted as a group of soldiers about 205 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:03,600 to commence with feasting stood before a temple  that is quite comparable to the Iseum and also on 206 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:09,920 an island right by the water. That at least some  of the lead tokens could have been entry tickets 207 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:14,880 to religious banquetss on Antirhodos Island  would fit well with the abundant animal bones, 208 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:20,800 ceramics, and lamps which have been found in  the area. Notably, analysis of the animal bones 209 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:26,160 from the Iseum have shown no traces of burning on the  bones, though butchering marks and other traces 210 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:31,200 of preparation of the meat for consumption  are present. This absence of burning on the 211 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:37,200 bones might indicate the use of animals for  consumption rather than simply for sacrifice. 212 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:43,760 We may also note that many of the tokens  from Alexandria carry unique motif choices 213 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:49,040 or combinations of motifs and seemingly  all originate from different series. If 214 00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:52,880 at least some of the tokens were used  as entry tickets for specific events, 215 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:57,280 this individuality would make a lot of sense  as each series was specific to a particular 216 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:03,520 event. In this way, while the tokens by nature  remain cryptic with regard to their function, 217 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:10,560 both a votive function or a ticket function  within the temple could be envisaged. 218 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:19,600 And lastly to conclude this assemblage of 253 lead  tokens from the temple of Isis and Alexandria with 219 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:26,160 around a total of 500 from the Portus Magnus adds  considerably to the corpus of provenance material 220 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:31,840 shedding light on the possible function of such  objects. Either a votive or ticket function are 221 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:37,120 the most plausible within the temple at present  while use of substitution coinage for daily 222 00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:43,120 transaction appears rather unconvincing. However,  we note that the tokens remain cryptic by nature. 223 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:48,800 They lack legends and diverge significantly from  the corpus of numismatic motifs and require great 224 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:53,920 familiarity in the iconography of the time  period, especially with other small media such 225 00:22:53,920 --> 00:23:00,480 as intaglios and gems. Most likely, they were made  for an insider audience who were familiar with 226 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:07,280 the motifs and didn't require legends to recognize  the subject. The vivid culture of token use at the 227 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:12,640 temple of Isis illustrates the active use of these  objects in the sanctuaries of the Portus Magnus 228 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:18,240 particularly towards the end of the Imperial  Period. And hopefully we have also demonstrated 229 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:24,160 that lead tokens are an exciting object type which  deserve more attention and future study. Indeed, 230 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:28,400 a major problem to the research of tokens  has been the lack of detailed recording and 231 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:35,040 interest in them. Find spots are rarely known.  description of motifs tend to be very schematic 232 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:39,680 and it's quite plausible that many tokens were  simply not recorded at all because of 233 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:50,320 the use of lead which was not of interest to  many early excavators. So, thank you very much.