Abstract
The Roman–early Byzantine residential quarter exposed at Oboda (‘Avedat) yielded 236 coins, 113 of which were identified, spanning the Hellenistic and Byzantine periods (third–second centuries BCE–fifth century CE). The earliest coin, a bronze from Aradus, reflects Oboda’s role as a key station along the Nabataean Incense Road connecting Petra with the Mediterranean coast. Nabataean coinage, particularly issues of Aretas IV, dominates the Early Roman assemblage, attestung to intensive regional trade and economic activity during the first century CE. Roman provincial coins of the second–third centuries CE further demonstrate continued commercial links between Oboda and neighboring urban centers following the Roman annexation of Nabataea. The majority of the coins belong to the Late Roman and early Byzantine periods, and consist mainly of small bronze minima circulating during the fourth–fifth centuries CE. Their widespread distribution throughout the residential quarter reflects the integration of Byzantine Oboda into the imperial monetary economy. The numismatic evidence from Oboda illuminates patterns of trade, monetary circulation and settlement history in the central Negev from the Nabataean through Byzantine periods.
Keywords
Oboda, Nabataeans, Negev, Incense Road, numismatics, Aretas IV, trade, economy, Aradus, Byzantine minima, Palestina Salutaris
Recommended Citation
Kool, R.
2026.
Coins from the Roman–Early Byzantine Residential Quarter at Oboda (‘Avedat).
'Atiqot 121.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70967/2948-040X.2528
Available at:
https://publications.iaa.org.il/atiqot/vol121/iss1/12