Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 2 - Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire

104 The Imperial Government

imaginethatthecoinsrequiredhadbeenstockpiled,forashorterorlonger
period,somewhereintheForumcomplex,perhapsnotfarfromthetribunal
on which, as we know from representations on coins, the emperor would
take his seat. But, even as regards very short-distance movements such as
these,itshouldstillbestressedthatbringingoutsome14,000kilogramsof
gold coins must have meant some 350 to 400 sack-loads to be carried by
porters(saccarii)ontheirbacks.
However, that may be enough of these necessarily speculative calcula-
tions.Itmaybemoreappropriatetoconcludebyrecallingthat,inhisbook
onthedistributionsofcornandmoneytotheRomanplebs,publishedmore
thansixtyyearsago,DenisvanBerchemexpressedahopewhichwewould
havetoadmithasnotyetbeenfulfilled:thatahistoryoftheimperialfinances
mightsoonbepublishedwhichwouldprovideanewconceptionofthisstill
obscureaspectofRomaninstitutions.^51 Suchastudyisstillawaited,andthe
Empirecontinuestokeepitssecrets.

51. VanBerchem(n.10),127.