(ORDO NEWS) — In Israel, during archaeological excavations at the Banius site in the Hermon River Nature Reserve, a Byzantine era cache was discovered in which gold coins were stored for almost one and a half thousand years.
According to The Jerusalem Post, citing the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), a total of 44 full gold coins from the Byzantine era were found in the cache.
Let us explain that in that period of time it was a common practice when small fragments were bitten off from coins. The latter, in fact, served as coins of small denomination.
In this case, the fact that all the coins have been preserved in their original form is already important for science.
According to the director of the excavation, Dr. Yoav Lehrer, a collection of coins weighing about 170 grams was hidden at the base of the stone wall.
Archaeologists suggest that they may have been buried during the Muslim conquest of the Levant, which belonged to the Byzantine Empire, around 635 AD.
The discovered coins were handed over to the IAA numismatic expert, Dr. Gabriela Bijovski.
As a result, it was possible to identify several coins minted during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Phocas (602-610 AD). Other coins from the cache were minted during the reign of Emperor Heraclius (610-641 AD).
The expert drew attention to the fact that several coins minted at the end of the reign of Heraclius were hidden in the cache.
There were no later coins in it. This allowed scientists to connect the treasure with the period of the conquest of the Levant.
“What is particularly interesting is that in the early years of the reign of Heraclius as emperor, only his portrait was depicted on the coin, and after a short time images of his sons appear,” says Bijowski.
Childhood and until their images became the same size as the portrait of their father, who is depicted with a long beard.
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