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Tuesday, 23rd December 2008 (1573 views)

A hoard of more than 250 gold coins dating from the Byzantine era has been uncovered by archaeologists during excavations for a car park in Jerusalem.

The 1,300-year-old Chanukah money was found during an exercise by the Israel Antiquities Authority at the Giv'ati car park a niche in the walls around Jerusalem National Park.

Each coin depicts the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius on the obverse side and a cross on the reverse and they are thought to have been minted at the beginning of the emperor's reign, which ran from 610-641 AD.

Dr Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets, directors of the excavation, stated: "This is one of the largest and most impressive coin hoards ever discovered in Jerusalem - certainly the largest and most important of its period."

The 264 coins date from the end of the Byzantine period in the seventh century and archaeologists claim that it is one of the largest hoards ever discovered.

A collection of four gold coins and a gold pellet found by two metal detector enthusiasts in a field in Lincolnshire may be sold to the British Museum, according to the Lincolnshire Echo.

 

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