Relief Architecture: an Archaeological study of monumental representations on coins from Roman Palestine (centuries I BCE to III CE)

• Grant number: 25/19829-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Archeology - Historical Archaeology
• Principal Investigator: Vagner Carvalheiro Porto
• Grantee: Emanoelly Arruda Ponte Pimenta
• Host Institution: Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In summary, this work aims to verify how the presence of architectural monuments engraved on coins minted in ancient Roman Palestine can help us understand the provincial world. The research question concerns how these representations constructed and communicated urban identities, as well as their impact on the projecting and strengthening of the imperial image in that region. Initially, a quantitative survey of these buildings will be conducted based on coins minted in eight coastal cities: Acco-Ptolemais, Anthedon, Ascalon, Caesarea Maritima, Dor, Gaza, and Rafah. Subsequently, a qualitative analysis of this survey will be conducted, focusing on the cities of Acco-Ptolemais, Caesarea Maritima and Dor through iconographic analysis. The chronological framework corresponds to the 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE, the period when coins were minted in these cities. Finally, it is of interest to systematize the results and publish them, as soon as possible, in the Barolo database belonging to the Laboratory of Provincial Roman Archaeology (LARP-MAE-USP), to which this work is associated and to present the research results at the USP International Symposium on Scientific and Technological Initiation (SIICUSP) in 2026. (AU)