Archaeologists easily unearthed the treasure because the owner of the farm accidentally broke the vase while using a tractor, letting coins scatter around without realizing it.
The treasure is one of the largest collections of ancient coins ever found in Hungary, according to Acient Origins. 4 extremely valuable gold coins and 7,000 silver coins were found in the middle of a field near the village of Ujlengyel in Central Hungary.
The tractor dug up the treasure, causing the coins to be brought to the shallow soil, even scattered on the ground without the owner of the field noticing – Photo: Ferrenczy Museum
Previously, archaeologists had found a smaller treasure trove of 150 coins from the same period a few dozen miles away, so they decided to expand their survey with metal detectors. The work quickly bore fruit because the soil was dug up and many coins were scattered in the top layer of soil.
According to a research team from the Ferrenczy Museum in Hungary, most of the ancient coins date back to the 15th-16th centuries. At that time, the “treasure” was enough to buy 7 horses. To date, because they are ancient coins, the value of the coins has increased many times. The treasure also contains very ancient Roman coins, dating back up to 2,000 years.
Speaking on Live Science, the authors said the owner of the treasure is still unknown, but it is likely that the wealthy owner hastily buried his property during the Ottoman attack in 1526. The archaeological team is continuing to survey the area in the hope of discovering more medieval treasures.
