The silver hoard from City IV, Qala'at al-Bahrain

International audienceDuring the eighth campaign (1961-62) of the Danish Archaeological expedition to Bahrain a silver hoard contained within a ceramic jar was discovered. It was described as consisting of « pieces of smelted silver, portions of bracelets clipped into several pieces, and a number of complete rings and earrings » (1). The hoard was provisionally dated to between 650 and 550 B.C. by the presence of a signet ring bearing an inscription in pseudo-Egyptian hieroglyphs. The purpose of this article is to re-examine the hoard, virtually neglected since its initial publication. The recent publication of an important article on money in ancient Mesopotamia prior to the advent of coinage places the Bahrain hoard in a new light and it will be suggested here that at least some of the contents of the hoard functioned as money. This Bahrain discovery appears as an important document for the study of early money in the ancient Near East prior to the beginnings of coinage