Pages:  49-60 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp2564960

A collection of rare lead tablets from Olbia is examined, each bearing relief abbreviations of personal names such as ΑΡΙ, Α[…], ΑΝ, ΝΙΚ, and Θ. These artifacts are believed to originate from a section of the necropolis under the control of the Aristocratid–Polyxenos families. To date, no direct parallels to these items have been identified in antiquity; their uniqueness is likely attributable to the advancement of metal-casting techniques specific to Olbia. One interpretive theory suggests that, between approximately 350 and 320 BC, the tablets functioned as personal promissory notes (οἱ χειρόγραφοι) issued by Polyxenos, son of Cleidomachos, who acted as a moneylender. Polyxenos belonged to the distinguished Polyxenos family, which formed part of the influential Aristocratids group, and served as a mint magistrate for tetradrachms and “Borysthenes” coinage around 328 BC. Among the debt records is one detailing a loan of twenty gold staters, with nine still outstanding, where the debtor’s abbreviated name begins with Α. Another tablet’s dolphin motif may indicate a link to the sanctuary of Apollo Delphinios, a hypothesis supported by lapidary epigraphy. Additionally, the use of a tablet inscribed ΑΡΙ is documented in magical inscriptions from 349–339 BC. Smaller tablets marked Ν, ΔΗ, and ΠΑΠΙ, tentatively dated to the second century BC, have also been recorded, though their exact function remains uncertain.

Keywords: Heraclea Pontica, “pseudo-Heraclea”, amphorae, ceramic stamps, manufacturers, late fabricant group (LFG)

Information about author:

Mykola Nikolaev (Nikolaev, Ukraine). Doctor of Historical Sciences, associate professor. Central Ukrainian National Technical University. University Ave., 8, Kropyvnytskyi, 25006, Kirovograd Oblast, Ukraine
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-3994-1150