I'm not too experienced with
weights, but to me the appearance looks right for the period
Hendin called "Late-Roman
Byzantine"
weights, "which extends to the 5th century CE." So possibly earlier? (For Roman-Byzantine
Nomisma weights inscribed "N," see
his pp. 212-213, nos. 349-356 in
Ancient Scale Weights.)
But...
BUT ...
The
weight doesn't fit a
Nomisma standard (and an "N"
inscription). Instead of being about 4 - 4.5g (~4.07-4.54, exs. cited), this fits a "3 Scripula"
weight (or 12 Siliquae?). Besides the Gamma (3rd letter for 3 Scripula, vs. "N" for
Nomisma),
Hendin 358 (p. 214) looks & weighs similar (3.13g). (He gives another Gamma / 3 Scrip. at 2.94g, and a 12-Siliq. at 2.86g.)
This isn't one of my areas of real interest, though. (I bought
Hendin's book and have read a little
bit because I have a few Byzantine/Islamic
scale weights I've come across mostly in group lots).
Did the
Nomisma standard drop as low as 3g at some point?
Could someone have cut a
Nomisma down to a 3 Scripula
weight?
Could it be a deceptive
weight used for marketplace trickery or some kind?
I'm curious now!
I haven't checked for yours, but you can find online some of Lionel
Holland's well-illustrated
work on
scale weights from
Caesarea around this period. For example:
Holland's (1986) article “
Islamic Bronze
Weights from
Caesarea Maritima” (
ANS Museum Notes Vol. 31), from
ANS or JSTOR
[LINK]; or
his (2009)
Weights and Weight-Like Objects from Caesarea Maritima [LINK]. (See also
his academia page:
https://independent.academia.edu/LionelHolland )
