16.11.2007 4500 coins in the forge wall
Categories: Calendar , Nálezy nejenom s detektorem v západní Evropě
A total of 4,500 ancient coins were discovered by archaeologists in Portugal fourteen years ago. The money was found in the wall of a former forge, where the owner had hidden it in a pouch and never retrieved it. The coins were bronze and copper.
The fourth-century coins were discovered by archaeologists during an ancient Roman village in the northeast of the country. Specifically, it was an archaeological excavation near the town of Coriscada, located about three hundred meters from Portugal's capital and largest city, Lisbon.
The archaeologists found exactly 4,526 coins that date back to the fourth century. According to them, the coins were hidden by their owner in a leather pouch and the treasure was never retrieved. He used the wall of the forge, the remains of which the archaeologists discovered, as a hiding place. In addition, they found the remains of a bathhouse and a large house with floors decorated with colourful mosaics. As well as the house's heating system.
The owner had placed the coins in a hollow partition of the house, which belonged to a local blacksmith. Archaeologists didn't know exactly what the coins were after the discovery. The coins needed to be cleaned. This was taken care of by experts in Lyon, France, where Portuguese archaeologists sent the depot.
Ancient coins are still found all over Europe today. In Spain, for example, which borders Portugal, archaeologists discovered several dozen silver and gold coins four years ago. And they did so at a site that was already an important mining site in the days of the Roman Empire. It is located in the Huelva region of southern Spain.
The coins date back to the second century AD and were used to pay for both the reigns of the emperors Trajan and Nero. There were forty to fifty coins and archaeologists say they were of incalculable value. "This is a discovery of extraordinary importance and beauty," stated Luis Iglesias, director of archaeological research at Atlalya Mining.
The coins were found together, which archaeologists say suggests that they were originally in a leather bag or wrapped in cloth. The fabric or leather had disintegrated over time and the environment...
Sources: www.nbcnews.com, www.tyden.cz, www.denik.cz
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