Analysis of Roman coins tells of Hannibal's defeat and Rome's rise
Scientists find that silver used came from mines on Iberian peninsula captured by Rome from Carthaginian leader
Maev Kennedy
Monday 14 August 2017 02.00 EDT
The defeat by the ancient Romans of Hannibal, despite the Carthaginian leader’s famous feat of marching his army – complete with war elephants – over the Pyrenees and Alps into Italy, also meant that the Romans captured the silver mines of the Iberian peninsula, bringing so much silver into the Roman empire that it can be traced through the coinage.
Scientists have for the first time analysed the silver content of a group of coins bracketing the Second Punic War from 218-201 BC, in which Hannibal initially inflicted humiliating defeats on the Romans, but was then forced by a counter-invasion to fall back to north Africa and ultimate defeat. The Carthaginians also lost control of the Iberian peninsula and the richest silver mines of the Mediterranean world.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/aug/14/roman-coins-analysis-tells-hannibal-defeat-rome-rise
