A Treasure Trove Found in the Holy Land

Stand for Israel  |  August 24, 2020

History truly comes alive in the Holy Land, under each footstep and unturned stone. We who stand for Israel love when new archaeological discoveries occur. The latest dig, carried out by young people volunteering with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) before beginning their IDF service, unearthed gold coins more than 1,100 years old. Our friends at The Jerusalem Post tell us more:

Some 424 solid gold coins dating from 1,100 years ago were found during an archaeological dig in central Israel.

The coins were found after two National Service members noticed a sparkling in the ground and uncovered the buried treasure. The youth were taking part in a dig being conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority ahead of the establishment of a new neighborhood in central Israel.

“It was surprising,” said Oz Cohen, a member of the Tenuat Tarbut/Cultural Movement in Holon. “I was digging in the ground and when I scooped it out, I saw what looked like very thin leaves. When I looked again, I saw that these were gold coins. It was really exciting, to find such a special and ancient buried treasure.”

“The cache, deliberately buried in the ground inside a clay jug, held 424 gold coins, with most dated to the early Islamic period and the Abbasid dynasty,” explained Liat Nadav-Ziv and Dr. Eli Hadad, the administrators of the dig. “The person who buried his treasure 1,100 years ago definitely expected to come back to take them, and even fixed the vessel with a nail so that it would not move.”

It’s unknown why the person who buried the coins didn’t return to get them. “We can only guess,” said the two administrators, adding that the find was rare as gold is valuable and passed on from generation to generation and not found in archaeological digs…