Objective This project will provide the first comprehensive analysis of the role played by tokens in the ancient Mediterranean. Tokens are frequently found on archaeological sites and within museum collections, but are little studied and poorly understood. These objects played a central role in cultural, religious, political and economic life in antiquity; closer study of these objects is thus imperative in gaining a fuller picture of the ancient world and its cultural legacy. An interdisciplinary team will examine tokens and their contexts within the ancient world, focusing on the periods when they are in highest use: the Hellenistic period (postdoctoral researcher) and the Roman world (PI and 2 PhD students). The project will combine an analysis of museum material with the known archaeological contexts of these objects. It will be the first project to approach these items in a cross regional and fully contextualised manner. This approach will enable researchers to better define what tokens were in antiquity, and what roles they played. Moreover, through a careful consideration of type, context, and distribution, the project will also explore how these objects actively contributed to the generation of different types of community. The envisaged outcomes will provide a basis for the study of tokens more broadly, generating insights that will inform the display, scholarly use and understanding of these objects within museums and other spaces. The exploration of how tokens and token-communities within antiquity existed alongside official currencies and groups will also provide an important historical parallel for the contemporary development of alternative currencies, their associated values, and communities. Fields of science natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdatabaseshumanitieshistory and archaeologyhistoryancient historyhumanitieshistory and archaeologyarchaeologyethnoarchaeologyhumanitiesartssocial sciencespolitical sciencesgovernment systemsdemocracy Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-StG-2015 - ERC Starting Grant Call for proposal ERC-2015-STG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-STG - Starting Grant Host institution THE UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK Net EU contribution € 1 033 723,00 Address Kirby Corner Road - University House CV4 8UW Coventry United Kingdom See on map Region West Midlands (England) West Midlands Coventry Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 033 723,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all THE UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK United Kingdom Net EU contribution € 1 033 723,00 Address Kirby Corner Road - University House CV4 8UW Coventry See on map Region West Midlands (England) West Midlands Coventry Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 033 723,00