Harpe or Jawbone? A New Iconographic Evaluation of Roman Republican Coins

Abstract

This study re-examines the curved object depicted behind the bust of Saturn/Cronus on a series of Roman Republican denarii issued between 106 and 85 BCE. Conventionally identified as a harpe, the object displays morphological features—irregular notches with broad bases and sharp tips, a pronounced longitudinal groove, and an inward-curving profile—that are not fully consistent with standard harpe representations in comparable numismatic material. The analysis draws on three converging lines of evidence: a morphological comparison of the object with known harpe types and with documented representations of animal mandibles; a contextual survey of selected Near Eastern, Egyptian, and Mediterranean traditions in which jawbone-like forms appear in connection with solar and Saturnine symbolic figures (Shamash, Seth, Samson, Cronus); and a limited examination of the semantic range of the relevant terminology ( harpe , falx , and cognate Eastern terms). These observations support a cautious proposal that the object may represent an animal mandible, most plausibly a donkey jawbone, rather than a metallic sickle-sword. No definitive identification is claimed. The aim is to explore whether the morphological and comparative evidence permits an alternative reading alongside the traditional attribution, and to situate the motif within the documented patterns of cross-cultural contact that shaped late Republican coin production.