Hi, all. This is another inscribed 2
dirham weight. The Arabic (
Kufic?) script is well preserved but I think it may have been double strike, so it is hard to decipher, and looks very different depending on the direction of view. One likely possibility is عمرا ن ‘IMRAN, a personal name found on many
weights from this
area whose meaning in this context is unknown. I have included the two best photos I could get of the
obverse showing the clearest views of the script, so if anyone has a different idea I would be grateful. Thanks, again. Jimi
BCC BW48
Islamic Bronze
WeightCaesarea Maritima 2
Dirham7th-12th Century CE
Obv: Uncertain Arabic
inscription stamped in relief in a circular
punch with multiple strikes. A possible reading may be عمرا ن ‘IMRAN,
a personal name found on many
weights of various standards and
denominations across this region. Rev: Blank. Roughly rectangular
brick-shaped slab, cut from a thick sheet of metal or
cast in the form
of two truncated four-sided pyramids, set base to base. File-adjustment
and/or finishing marks visible on the edges.
AE 11.25 x 9.25 x 7.25mm. Wt: 5.82gm.
see:
Holland, W.W.O.C.M., ch.8; and
Holland, "
ANSMN 31 (1986)" #365ff.
Surface find
Caesarea Maritima, 1970 (click for larger pic)
my
weight gallery:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=lastup&cat=-5252