A Bronze Steelyard with an Acorn-Shaped Counterweight from the Paphos Agora

Abstract

Steelyards were commonly used by sellers at agorae and fora during the Roman and Byzantine periods. They are based on the principle of the lever, mentioned by Aristotle and probably well-known even earlier. One steelyard made of bronze has been found, together with an acorn-shaped counterweight, at the agora of Nea Paphos during an excavation conducted by the Department of Classical Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University. Also preserved were fragments of chain and two hooks that were used to hang the weighted objects, as well as fragment of a third hook. The device represents the Pompeian type of steelyard and can be dated by analogy to other examples from the 1st century AD. The Paphos balance may be evidence of the use of a local island weighting system based on an operating unit other than the Roman pound (libra).