HUMAYMA 1995

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Location

City

Humayma [الحميمة]

County

Region

Aqaba [العقبة]

Country

Jordan

Ancient place

Hauarra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humayma

Lat/Long/Alt

29.9541418 / 35.3474639 / 0 view

Location details

Centred on village/city

Information

20958

Permalink

https://chre.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/hoard/20958

Hoard name

HUMAYMA 1995

Alternative names

Hauarra, الحميمة

Data type

Hoard

Date of discovery (from)

10 Jul 1995

(to)

11 Jul 1995

Total number of coins

Summary

A purse of 28 Late Roman coins, found at the edge of the settlement, 100 m west of the Roman fort.

Details
Coins Summary
Coins
Rating
Archaeological context
Containers
Objects
References
Reports
Images
Credit

Discovery method

Controlled archaeological investigation
Land Use

Archaeological site
Opening year (earliest)

335
Opening year (latest)

340
Coin-level data

Available to enter

Fetching coin data

Numismatic rating

Excellent
Context rating

Excellent
Findspot rating

Excellent

Site comment

100 m west of the Roman fort. Adjacento Via Nova Traiana The site of Humayma is located in southern Jordan, approximately 55 km northeast of Aqaba and 45 km south of Petra. Founded by the Nabataeans, the site became home to a Roman auxiliary fort immediately following the annexation of the Nabataean Kingdom in 106 CE.
Associated features

Area E121 which is located northeast of the settlement’s center and approximately 100 m west of the Roman fort. Between Area E121 and the fort, the Via Nova Trajana (the region’s primary north-south road) is thought to have entered the town from the north, beneath the modern road. Area E121 comprises two heavily robbed-out enigmatic stone structures and a raised square platform built of stone and mortar. The functions of the structures in Area E121 are not entirely clear. The stone platform, which measures almost exactly 10 by 10 Roman feet (2.95 m), may have served as a tribunal for reviewing troops on parade, or it may have held a civic or religious monument, given its orientation towards a prominent mountain overlooking the site. Its top surface was later incorporated into Structure A’s floor. Excavation of Structure A could not determine its function; however, having been constructed in the early fourth century and abandoned in the second half of the fourth century, the final phase of this building appears to have been contemporary with the last military occupation of the adjacent Roman fort.6 The construction of ring-like Structure B, which may have served as an animal pen, postdates the abandonment of Structure A.7 The coin hoard was found between the stone platform and the now robbed- out walls of Structure A’s southern room. Its discovery occurred during the removal of the western half of the baulk between Squares 02 and 07. On July 10, excavators uncovered eight coins in the compact sandy soil of this baulk. Continued removal of the baulk on July 11, resulted in a further six coins being found in the sifter. Then, as described by the excavators, a partial baulk collapse resulted in twelve coins being found grouped together. Ten of these coins fell with the collapse, and two remained in place, suspended in compacted sand, approximately 20 cm above a beaten earth floor (Floor 9). According to the excavators, there was no sign of a container, but they described these twelve coins as being “carefully stacked so [there] was probably something holding them together originally.” Shortly afterward, an additional coin was found in the baulk, which the excavators associated with the hoard. The excavation report also notes the presence of some small rocks located around the concentrated coins, but otherwise the soil of the baulk consisted of loose and compacted sand. Although the excavators recovered ceramic sherds and glass fragments from the baulk collapse, none of those finds were diagnostic.
Site class

Military

Depositional context

Wall

Containers belonging to this hoard

Purse?

According to the excavators, there was no sign of a container, but they described these twelve coins as being “carefully stacked so [there] was probably something holding them together originally.”

References

Reference

Harvey, Craig A. - 2022 - A Late Fourth-Century Purse Hoard from the Site of Humayma (Ancient Hauarra), Jordan

M. Spoerri (April 2024). Corrected, updated and coin summary by C. Gazdac (July 2026).

Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire

HUMAYMA 1995

Data not added to the map

Containers belonging to this hoard

Purse?

According to the excavators, there was no sign of a container, but they described these twelve coins as being “carefully stacked so [there] was probably something holding them together originally.”

References

Coin Hoardsof the Roman Empire

HUMAYMA 1995

Data not added to the map

Containers belonging to this hoard

Purse?

According to the excavators, there was no sign of a container, but they described these twelve coins as being “carefully stacked so [there] was probably something holding them together originally.”

References

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Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire