Among the thousands and thousands of round terra-cottas in the form of the volcano, the top, or the wheel, which are found here from the surface down to a depth of from 14 and 16 meters (46 to 53 feet)—that is, from the end of the Greek colony down to the ruined strata of the first inhabitants, I have not yet found a single one with symbolical signs, upon which I could discover the slightest trace that it had been used for any domestic purpose.[191] On the other hand, among those which have no decorations I find a few, perhaps two in a hundred, of those in the form of volcanoes, the upper surfaces of which show distinct traces of rubbing, as if from having been used on the spinning-wheel or loom. That these articles, which are frequently covered with the finest and most artistic engravings, should have served as weights for fishing-nets, is utterly inconceivable, for, apart from all other reasons opposed to such a supposition, pieces of terra-cotta have not the requisite weight, and of course are directly spoilt by being used in water.
M. É. Burnouf writes to me, that these exceedingly remarkable objects were either worn by the Trojans and their successors as amulets, or must have been used as coins. Both of these suppositions, however, seem to me to be impossible. For amulets they are much too large and heavy, for they are from above 1 inch to nearly 2 inches, and some even 2-1/3 inches, in diameter, and from 3/5 of an inch to nearly 2 inches high; moreover, it would be most uncomfortable to wear even a single one of these heavy pieces on the neck or breast. That they were used as coins appears to me inconceivable, on account of the religious symbols; moreover, if they had been so used, they would show traces of wear from their continual transfer. The white substance with which the engravings are filled seems also to contradict their having been used as coins; for in their constant passage from hand to hand it would have soon disappeared. Lastly, such an use is inconsistent with the fact that they also occur in the strata of the Greek colony, in which I find a number of copper and some silver coins of Ilium. However, the latter belong for the most part to the time of the Roman emperors, and I cannot say with certainty that they reach back beyond our Christian era. There are, however, coins of Sigeum, which probably belong to the second century before Christ, for in Strabo’s time this town was already destroyed.