Israeli Tour Guide on Camping Trip Discovers 1,700-Year-Old Coins
This summer, tour guide Yotam Dahan was camping with his family on a beach near the town of Atlit, Israel, when he stumbled onto a greenish metal mass made up of 13 pounds of ancient coins. “I noticed something sparkling under the light of the flashlight behind our tent, and when I went to look, I was shocked to discover it was a lump of ancient coins,” he tells Israel Hayom.
Upon inspection, IAA coin expert Donald Tzvi-Ariel determined that the currency dated to the fourth century C.E. According to Israeli newspaper Maariv, remnants of cloth left on the mass of coins indicate that they may have been packed together in a bag. As the metals oxidized over time, the coins became stuck in a single mass.
The large quantity of coins suggests that the cache belonged to a ship and was intended for use in trade. “Archaeological records show vessels were often washed ashore along with all their cargo.” Fourth-century Israel was under the control of Rome and, later, the Byzantine Empire, making it part of an extensive network of Mediterranean trade routes.
Dahan, for his part, gave his find to Israeli authorities and, in return, received a certificate of appreciation from the IAA. “Handing such findings over to the national collection helps us, the archaeologists, complete more parts of the puzzle that is the history of the Land of Israel,” Said tells Ynetnews.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/camping-trip-leads-discovery-1700-year-old-coins-israel-180978464/
