Coins, Forts and Commercial Exchanges in the Sixth‐ and Early Seventh‐Century Balkans

Summary The nature of settlements in the sixth‐century Balkans is a matter of current debate. Amphorae and hoards of iron implements and weapons have been discussed in relation to this controversy. A key problem is that of the use of coins in an economic environment without any large‐scale agricultural production. While hoards of coins have been analyzed in relation to the presence of the military in the Balkans, single finds of coins remain a category of archaeological evidence commonly neglected in discussions of the sixth‐century economy. The article offers an explanation connected with the quaestura exercitus implemented in 536, and its conclusion is that the small copper denominations discovered on hilltop sites in the Balkans were not obtained on the market (none existed in any of the many hilltop sites known so far), but piggybacked on transports of annona.