An Israeli tour guide discovered a treasure of great value in many ways while camping with his family near a mountain.
According to Ancient Origins, it is a large block of coins weighing up to 6 kg, tightly tied together due to rust after 17 centuries of burial. Mr. Yotam Dahan, the lucky man, donated the treasure to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and took archaeologists to the discovery site. That is Habonim beach in Northern Israel, where the treasure was accidentally “unearthed” partly by nature just 70 meters from the water’s edge.
The 6 kg treasure that the tour guide discovered during a camping trip – Photo: IAA
According to Mr. Jacob Sharvit, Director of the IAA’s Marine Archeology Unit, the location of the discovery of the ancient vault is quite close to several other archaeological sites belonging to the Neolithic period 9,000 years ago. It is clear that this is an area with a long history of human activity and settlement.
The coins were tightly tied together into a distorted ball shape, with some pieces of cloth still stuck around, showing that they were kept in a bag.
The beach where the treasure was discovered. In the past, the water level was much higher, so some artifacts from ancient “ghost ships” are now mixed in sandy areas offshore – Photo: IAA
Archaeologists believe the bag of money belongs to an ancient “ghost ship” that crashed centuries ago, its cargo washed ashore. Examination results show that these coins date back to the 4th century.
According to Time of Israel, the discovery is considered a great treasure not only because it is ancient money, but also as evidence of a period of prosperous trade in the region, a time when the Romans expanded and pushed Strong commercial activities around the world. Some artifacts dating to the late 5th century, or the end of the Roman period, were found at this location.
