| Summary: | The most important material evidence for the Roman trade with India is in the form of hoards of gold and silver Roman coins found in India. The aim of this thesis is to present an accurate and upto- date list of these hoards, and a critical study of them. It is concluded that the earliest phase of trade on any significant scale began, under the Emperor Augustus, and that it was conducted using denarii of two'common types. Later in the Julio-Claudian period the medium changed to the aureus, and a greater diversity of types was used. The denarius ceased to be imported some time before the debasement of the silver by Nero, and denarii on the reformed standard are absent from attested hoards. There are comparatively few aurei from the period of Nero to Trajan; but the second century saw a revival of trade. Hoards of this period contain aurei which are very little worn. This phase saw the spread in the distribution of hoards; most first century hoards are confined to the southernmost part of India, whereas the second century hoards are spread up into parts 'of the Deccan.
|
|---|
