This Golden fish was designed as storage for oils or perfumes. The compact shape indicates it was designed for traveling around markets. Being made of gold shows
the container would have been designed to stand out whether in a home or at a market. This shows that oils or perfumes were and sold at markets frequently.
Lion Weight
Location: Turkey
Date: 5th century BC
Purpose: determine the value or quantity of money.
This lion was designed to be 30gk, the weight of a Babylonian talent. The inscription shows that it was scaled to the state silver. Therefore, it was most likely used to determine whether or not currency was genuine or forged and made of cheaper metals.
Bowl
Location: Turkey
Date: 5-4 century BC
Purpose: Mass produced bowl
This bowl is much more ornate when compared to other Persian bowls. The golden stamps on the side indicate the use of a stamp to mass produce them, showing that they were produced to be sold or traded. Being made of silver shows that the bowl was designed for daily use and to withstand being transported.
Ornate drinking vessel
Location:
Date: 5th century
Purpose: Drinking vessel
This drinking vessel it highly ornate, indicating that the owners had vast wealth or were paid greatly to design it. It could be used as a display of wealth to foreigners to boast of the stability within the Persian economy or just for status among friends. While the location is unknown the origin is Achaemenid.
Tablet
Location: southern Iraq
Date: 516bc
Purpose: Receipt for a horse
This clay tablet was used as a receipt for the purchase of a horse. This tablet is compact and contains no other writing. This is proof that records were made of purchases, even small ones and not just the major purchases. Also shows trade and purchases were done frequently between Persians to help themselves and benefit the economy.
Tablet
Location: south Iraq
Date: 455BC
Purpose: Clay tablet promising apples as rent of a field.
This is part of a clay tablet promising apples as rent for a field. This Tablet shows how exchanges were not only made with money but anything that could have been of value to the other owner. This field could also have had an apple orchard, maxing the payment a form of tax.
Tablet
Location: South Iraq
Date: 524BC
Purpose: Clay tablet as a contract for the exchange of fields
Tablet shown is inscribed with the contract for the exchange of fields. The application of a seal means that this transaction was both legal and assisted by an individual with official standing, to ensure either correct amounts or promises are met. This may indicated recording of payments for tax
Tablet
Location: South Iraq
Date: Darius I
Purpose: Lease of a field
The tablet depicted has the lease of a field written in cuneiform. This tablet indicates
Recording payments occurred frequently either for taxation or personal record. It also allows historians to understand that purchases, were written down, on solid materials such as clay. Even small purchases were recorded as they show how much trade occurred.
Tablet fragment
Location: South Iraq
Date: 5th BC
Purpose: contract for purchase of real estate
The fragment of Clay tablet shown is a contract for real estate. This fragment allows us to see that property was owned and purchased by individuals and not owned or distributed by the state. The seal impression also shows how some official may have been involved. Private property could indicate tax of either goods or produce.
Coin(s)
Location: various
Date: 5th-4th century BC
Purpose: currency
The gold coin was known as a daric, which was the value of 20 silver coins and was standard for most of the Persia empire. The coin on the right was minted in a different region and possibly era so it is unknow whether the type of coin varied depending on the region or if they were made at different times.
