Understanding Coinage of the Past: Indo Greek Coins by Dr. Osmund Bopearachchi: A Lecture Review by Kajal Bawa

 

Make mistakes but make mistakes intelligently.

Already in awe of Prof. Bopearachchi from when he spoke to Speaking Archaeologically about the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, we were more than elated when he graciously agreed to give us two more lectures on the coinage of the past. Exploring Indo-Greek Coins in the first lecture, he showed that the reconstruction of the history of the Greeks in Bactria and India as well as their nomadic successors is entirely dependent upon coins and inscriptions. Only a few texts explore their history and these are scattered across Greek, Latin, Indian and Chinese texts. 

What was most fascinating about the lecture was the approach Prof. Bopearachchi took towards studying coinage. I always assumed that studying coins would be limited to the coin itself- its shape, material, contents as that is how we had always studied it. This is important but my understanding was taken to the next level as Prof. Bopearachchi provided a context to this study. He highlighted the geography of the area for us to understand the settlement patterns of the people who issued the coins in this area. Using images from his own travels he showed us the slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains, swat valley, and other areas of where these people under study would have lived. This also highlighted something we at Speaking Archaeologically hold true- the importance of visiting the site you are writing about. Without that spatial understanding our knowledge of the area would fall flat! 

Looking at archaeological evidence, Prof Bopearachchi highlighted the efforts of archaeologists like Foucher who went to Bactra looking for a Greek city but was greatly disappointed in finding nothing as the Greek layers were so deep! It was only later with deeper excavations that corinthian capitals, coins were found.

Prof Bopearachchi touched upon a pertinent issue in this discussion- the impact of political instability on archaeological sites. Majority of these sites are located in hostile zones and this greatly impacts archaeological evidence in the area as has been seen in the loss of the great Buddhas of Bamiyam to terrorism. 

One site that has provided great archaeological evidence is the site of Al Khanoum excavated by the French Archaeological Mission(1964-1978). Prof. Bopearachchi showed how the site had a palace with Greek and Persian elements, a gymnasium with a dedication in Greek to Hermes and Heracles and even a large temple! 

As a performing artist, what I found truly fascinating about the site was the existence of a theatre. A classical theatre- larger than the one at Babylon! Prof Bopearachchi pointed out that the remains of sculptures in the area suggests that the performers at the theatre probably wore masks. 

The excavations in the area could not be completed by the team due to the invasion of the Soviet army. Later, locals dug up the area looking for treasures and used those items as pillars in new structures- in some cases even placing the Corinithian capitals upside down.

One of the largest figures of Athena was found on this site! 

The site of Begram was also highlighted by Prof Bopearcahchi as the excavations here led to the finding of objects of diverse origins. Objects like statues of river goddesses on Makra are found from the Indian subcontinent, fragments of Chinese lacquer as well as Roman objects. It reminds us that these areas were not isolated, but interacted with the surrounding areas and were part of important trade networks! Inscriptional evidence from objects, like the bracelet shown below is interesting as the maker carves his names on it!

Establishing the context, Professor Bopearachchi moved to the coins themselves which he showed can be studied by looking at the stylistic variations, overstrikes, technique of minting, metrology, iconography and monograms associated with the areas they are found in. Coin hoards were the banks of those days and so people would save money by putting them in pots. Prof.Bopearachchi spent 10-15 years in Afghanistan searching for these hoards by talking to the locals who were often the ones who found them. He used this to trace the patterns of hoards location wise. 

Prof. Bopearachchi then explored the content of coins. We see the battle of Alexander at Taxila against the Indian army under King Porus. We know that Porus fell from his elephant in the battle but the coin shows that Alexander attacked him(ancient fake news!). What is even more interesting is one of the first depictions of Samkarasana Balarama(with a pestle and plough)  and Vasudeva Krishna (holding a sankha(conch shell) and a wheel(chakra) with a chhatra above him are found in the coins of Agathocles. This goes on to show that there was interaction of ideas and iconographies. In the case of Gajalakshmi, evidence has shown that she even acquired qualities and iconographies of Tyche and Ardoxho in this region!

The lecture was insightful in more ways than one. It explored in depth how we can approach the study of coins and broaden its scope by looking at its archaeology and searching for parallels to understand the influences on it. It highlighted the role of objects in studying histories where the literary evidence is scarce.

More importantly, I was inspired by Prof. Bopearachchi’s own experience in studying these objects- travelling to the places, speaking to the locals and making them a part of the efforts towards deciphering the history of the area. It holds a great lesson for us all, that we must try to be proactive in our efforts to trace histories, that we must try to arrive at conclusions intelligently even if that means we contradict our conclusions of the past.