The Israel Antiquities Authority (I) has revealed that around 2,000 gold coins were discovered by divers in the historic harbor of Caesarea. The coins, which are over a thousand years old, represent the country’s largest discovery of their sort. It is thought that the treasure belonged to a shipwrecked government treasury boat carrying taxes to Egypt.
While scuba diving in Caesarea National Park, a group of divers from a local dive club stumbled upon what they initially mistook for “toy coins.” The historic city and harbor of Caesarea Maritima (or Caesarea Palestinae), located on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, were founded by Herod the Great between 25 and 13 BCE and inhabited during the late Roman and Byzantine periods.
Divers reported the find to the Marine rchaeology Unit of the I, which dispatched other dives with metal detectors to the spot, which yielded approximately 2,000 gold pieces in a remarkable state of preservation. They were in such good shape that archaeologists were able to discover teeth and bite imprints on the coins, showing that their owners or merchants had personally examined them.
The dinar, half dinar, and quarter dinar coins date to the Fatimid Empire (909–1171), a Shia Islamic empire that encompassed North Africa from the Red Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The dynasty governed across Africa’s Mediterranean coast and ultimately made Egypt the caliphate’s center.
“The discovery of such a massive hoard of coins, which had such immense economic power in antiquity, raises a number of possibilities regarding its location on the ocean floor. There is likely a shipwreck there of an official treasury boat that was transporting collected taxes to the Egyptian central government. “Maybe the coin hoard was intended to pay the payroll of the Fatimid military garrison that was stationed in Caesarea and guarded the city,” said Kobi Sharvit, director of the I’s Maritime Archaeology Unit. “Another notion is that the treasure was money from a great merchant ship that traded with the Mediterranean Sea’s coastal cities and port and sank there,” he continued.
The Research discovered that the majority of the coins belonged to the Fatimid caliphs l-kim (996–1021 CE) and his son l-hir (1021–1036) and were struck in Egypt and North Africa. Due of his unpredictable and harsh actions toward religious minorities under his power, l-kim is frequently referred to as the “Crazy Caliph.” This was in stark contrast to previous caliphs, who had demonstrated tolerance for non-Muslims, such as Christians and Jews, who held prominent positions in the government. It was, however, “tolerance with a purpose” designed to ensure the flow of funds from all non-Muslims in order to finance the Caliphs’ massive Mamluk army (slave soldiers).
After the disappearance of l-kim on the night of 12/13 February 1021 and at the age of 36, z-Zhir ascended to the Caliphate. l-kim had embarked on one of his nighttime excursions to the al-Muqattam highlands outside of Cairo and never returned. The search only uncovered his donkey and bloodstained clothing. The disappearance continues to be a mystery.
According to the Report, “when considered in light of historical sources, the treasure’s tremendous value and significance become evident.” In addition to paying a head tax of one dinar and five carats, according to ancient sources, the Muslim residents of the communities were expected to pay one-half of their harvest’s agricultural produce (twenty-four carats equal one dinar, hence the method used to measure gold according to carats).
The Caesarea Development Corporation and the Nature and Parks Authority were ecstatic to uncover the riches. They stated, “Without a doubt, the discovery of the amazing treasure emphasizes Caesarea’s distinctiveness as a historic port city with a rich history and cultural legacy. After 2,000 years, it is still capable of enthralling its many visitors, of continually innovating and surprising once more as more of its enigmatic past is uncovered in the earth and the water.
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