Image credit: Image of some of the discovered coins provided by the Italian Ministry of Culture
NEWS: Tens of thousands of ancient bronze coins found off the coast of Sardinia
Tens of thousands of bronze coins have been found off of the coast of Sardinia near the town of Arzachena after a diver spotted something metallic and alerted authorities. Italy’s Ministry of Culture said on Saturday that after authorities were informed, divers from an art protection squad and from the Ministry of Culture’s undersea archaeology department were sent to investigate the find. What they came across was a hoard of ancient coins. The coins have been dated to the first half of the 4th century AD and so come from around a time when Emperors Diocletian and Constantine the Great were bringing stability back to the empire after a turbulent 3rd century.
The majority of the coins were found were found in a wide area of sand in between underwater seagrass and the coast. The state of the location has led experts to suspect that this was the site of a shipwreck and that remains of an ancient wrecked ship could be nearby. The exact amount of coins found in the hoard are unknown but, based on their collective weight, it is estimated that there could be between 30 and 50 thousand coins in total. The Italian Ministry for Culture has remarked on the excellent condition in which the coins have remained and that even the more damaged coins still have legible inscriptions on them.
Luigi La Rocca, a Sardinian Archaeology Department official, stated:
“The treasure found in the waters off Arzachena represent one of the most important coin discoveries, in recent years.” He added that the find is “further evidence of the richness and importance of the archaeological heritage that the seabed of our seas, crossed by men and goods from the most ancient of epochs, still keep and preserve.”
Numismatic evidence is always very valuable for historians. As these coins each get properly examined, they will likely have a wealth of information to tell us about the Roman Empire.
07/11/2023