In the seventh century, someone may have hidden 44 gold coins in a wall with the intention of recovering it later.
Ancient gold coins found hidden in wall shed light on Byzantine Empire
Instead, the coins were discovered by Israeli archaeologists about 1,400 years later, who welcomed the find as a unique window into the distant past during a turbulent period of violent conquest.
The cache was discovered at Banias, formerly known as Panaeas, according to the Israeli Antiquities Authority on Monday. Banias has historically been a significant spiritual location for many different cultures.
Experts speculate that the 170g (6oz) pure gold coins, which bear the effigies of the emperors Phocas (602-610 CE) and Heraclius (610-644 CE), were secreted during the Muslim invasion of the region in or around 635.
Dr. Yoav Lerer, the excavation’s director, said in a statement that the find “reflects a specific period in time, when we can envision the owner concealing his money amid the prospect of war, intending to return one day to collect his property.”
“Looking back, we can see that he had it worse.”
The coins also provide fresh information on the region’s economy during the last 40 years of Byzantine rule.
Dr. Yoav Lerer, the excavation’s director, said in a statement that the find “reflects a specific period in time, when we can envision the owner concealing his money amid the prospect of war, intending to return one day to collect his property.”
“Looking back, we can see that he had it worse.”
The coins also provide fresh information on the region’s economy during the last 40 years of Byzantine rule.
With the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West following the sack of Rome by barbarian tribes in 410 CE, the Byzantine Empire, based on what is now Istanbul, was a continuation of the Roman Empire.
Despite losing some of its provinces to Muslim invasions in the 7th century, when the coins were hidden in the wall, the eastern empire would continue to exist for another 1,000 years.
According to a news statement from Dr. Gabriela Bijovsky, a specialist in ancient coins who studied the trove, “the majority of the coins are of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius.”
In his initial years as emperor, just his portrait was shown on the coin; but, after a short while, the likenesses of his sons also appeared.
One may observe his boys’ development from infancy till their image resembles that of their father, who is shown sporting a long beard, in terms of stature.
During the excavation, more coins as well as pieces of structures, water channels, and ceramic kilns were discovered.
Banias, which is now a national park, has a significant spiritual significance across many civilizations. Originally a Canaanite altar to the deity Baal, it was renamed Pan, the half-goat, half-man god of shepherds and fertility, during the Hellenistic era.
The site reached its height in the first century AD under the reign of Herod and his son Philip II, who changed its name to Caesarea in honour of Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor.
It is said in Christian tradition that Saint Peter made the claim that Jesus was God’s son there before obtaining the keys to the heavenly kingdom.
Banias is located in the region of the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied after capturing it from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967, fostering settlements and a booming tourism sector. Although Damascus protested vehemently when former President Donald Trump acknowledged Israel’s sovereignty over the region in 2019, the majority of the world still views the region as Israeli-occupied.
Before the adjacent Druze holy site of Nabi Khadr was linked to the national electrical system, the Israel Electric Corporation sponsored and completed the Banias excavation.
The finding of the coins is being hailed as being as significant to the earlier this year discovery of the church that archaeologists claimed to be Saint Peter’s birthplace.
According to Raya Shurky, director of the National Parks Authority, “the gold coin hoard is on a level with the Byzantine Church, presumably the Church of Saint Peter, that was just unearthed.”
The ruins of a mosaic floor and a stone with several crosses etched on it show that Banias developed into a Christian pilgrimage place.
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