In Israel, teenagers found 425 gold coins 1000 years ago: What the find told archaeologists
In Israel, teenagers found 425 gold coins 1000 years ago: What the find told archaeologists

Video: In Israel, teenagers found 425 gold coins 1000 years ago: What the find told archaeologists

Video: In Israel, teenagers found 425 gold coins 1000 years ago: What the find told archaeologists
Video: Martin Famous Dog Scene (Best Quality) - YouTube 2024, November
Anonim
Image
Image

During archaeological excavations in the ancient Israeli city of Yavne, two teenagers found an old broken jug with 425 pure gold coins! The priceless find has almost a kilogram of weight and is more than a thousand years old. The exact location of the treasure was classified for fear of robbers and looters. What do scientists tell special about this unique treasure?

The boys who stumbled upon the pitcher volunteered for Israel's pre-war national service program. This structure thus organizes a deeper study of the history of Israel for schoolchildren. The teenagers participated in archaeological excavations at the site of the future construction of a new residential area. Digging the ground with a shovel, one of the children, Oz Cohen, came across shards of a ceramic jug.

The treasure was hidden in a ceramic jug
The treasure was hidden in a ceramic jug
The teenagers took part in archaeological excavations
The teenagers took part in archaeological excavations

Talking about this, he remarked: “It was amazing. I was just digging the ground and suddenly I saw something that looked like rotten leaves. When I looked at them more closely, I saw that they were not leaves, but gold coins! It was incredibly interesting to find such a unique and ancient treasure."

According to the testimony of scientists, such finds are extremely rare, since gold was of high value at all times
According to the testimony of scientists, such finds are extremely rare, since gold was of high value at all times

Excavation leaders Liat Nadav-Ziv and Dr. Eli Haddad of the Israel Antiquities Authority believe the treasure was temporarily buried and the owner was probably determined to return to retrieve it. The find allowed scientists to hypothesize the possibility of ancient international trade with remote regions of the Middle East.

The Israeli city of Yavne
The Israeli city of Yavne
Excavation site
Excavation site

The gold found was at that time a very significant amount of money. This would allow him to live comfortably in the most luxurious palace in the capital. The jug contained not only clean twenty-four carat coins, some of the coins were trimmed to have a lower denomination. Gold is in its original state and does not require restoration work.

The discovered gold does not require any restoration work, it is in excellent condition
The discovered gold does not require any restoration work, it is in excellent condition

Dr. Robert Cool, a coin expert at the Israel Antiquities Authority, said that one of the small cut coins is a fragment of a gold solidus from the Byzantine emperor Theophilos (829-842). It was minted in the capital of the empire, Constantinople, never before have such coins been found in Israel before. The find served as evidence of possible trade between rival empires - Byzantium and Israel.

Israeli archaeologist Shahar Crispin cleans gold coins. A collection of 425 gold coins, most of which date from the Abbasid period around 1100 years ago
Israeli archaeologist Shahar Crispin cleans gold coins. A collection of 425 gold coins, most of which date from the Abbasid period around 1100 years ago

There were discoveries confirming the Byzantine presence earlier. For example, in January 2020, thirteen-year-old Stav Meir from Caesarea went to pick mushrooms. In the process, he found a stone tablet with Greek letters. The boy was interested in archeology and immediately realized that his find was something extremely important.

When he contacted the Israel Antiquities Authority, Peter Hendelman, a researcher for Caesarea, told him that it was a Byzantine tombstone. It contains the name and area where the plaque was found. Caesarea is located in the north of central Israel, it was a wealthy city on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. This city was rebuilt by Herod the Great around 20 BC and named after the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus.

In May 2020, a very young boy, six-year-old Imri Eliya, walked with his parents through the Tel Gemme archaeological site and discovered a tiny tablet decorated with two figurines. The family donated the find to the Israel Antiquities Authority. The find turned out to be unique, dating back to the Late Bronze Age, when the Egyptians ruled Canaan, around 12-15 centuries BC.

On this occasion, archaeologists Saar Ganora, Itamar Weissbein and Orena Shmueli made the following statement: "This visually opens a window for us to understand the essence of the struggle for domination in the south of the country during the Canaanite period." Probably, Imri himself will not understand the full depth of the meaning of his find until he is a little older. Now the teenager enjoys increased attention to himself and has become the owner of a special certificate of citizenship from the Israel Antiquities Authority.

History often presents us with various surprises, changing our established ideas about the world. Read our article in an abandoned village church, archaeologists have discovered a mysterious jug with a surprise.

Recommended: