A new coin offering site from the La Tène period at the Mallnitzer Tauern mountain pass (Salzburg/Carinthia)

Abstract

In the vicinity of the southern passage of the Mallnitzer Tauern pass a further offering site was discovered in 2011. The coinage consists of 16 oboli and an as of the Roman Republic. An older group of the small silver coins dates to the middle of the 2nd century BC. This is surprisingly early in comparison with the dating of all the coins from other offering sites on the Mallnitzer Tauern pass belonging to the end of the 2nd century BC. Some of the coins recovered in 2011 are of Norican, others of Tauriscan origin. One of the oboli is a Vindelican coin from the northern side of the Alps. The special importance of the Mallnitzer Tauern pass can probably be explained by gold and silver mining activities in the area just north of the pass during the Late La Tène and Roman period. The offered coins moreover prove a far distance trade between the South-eastern Alps and the modern Southern Bavaria.