A stash of ancient silver coins was discovered hidden in a wall crevice in Sicily. CBS News
A remarkable discovery was made recently on a small Mediterranean island: a stash of ancient silver coins dating back over 2,000 years. The coins, believed to be from between 94 B.C. and 74 B.C., were found by archaeologists during restoration work on the Acropolis of Santa Teresa and San Marco on Pantelleria Island. This island lies between Sicily and Tunisia, off the southern coast of Italy.
The coins were discovered hidden in a wall crevice, and the find was announced by the regional heritage office for Pantelleria. The collection includes 27 denarii, which were the primary silver coins used in ancient Rome. The discovery was made by a team led by Thomas Schäfer from the University of Tübingen in Germany. They initially spotted some of the coins by chance when recent rain had loosened the soil, making them visible. The team then dug under a rock to uncover the rest of the coins. After cleaning and restoring the coins, the news was shared on the Facebook page of the archaeological park that includes Pantelleria, as well as sites on Sicily’s mainland like Cave di Cusa and Selinunte.
These coins were minted during the Roman Republic, a period that lasted nearly 500 years before the rise of the Roman Empire in 27 B.C. This discovery is significant for understanding the history of the Roman Republic, including its politics and commerce during that era.
Interestingly, this is not the first time such coins have been found on Pantelleria. In 2010, another similar stash of Roman coins was unearthed at the same site, totaling 107 coins. Prior to that, excavations in the area had also uncovered three marble sculptures representing notable Roman figures, including Julius Caesar, Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasian, and Agrippina, an influential empress. These sculptures are now displayed at the Salinas Museum in Palermo and the British Museum in London.
The new find adds valuable information to the historical record, helping archaeologists and historians piece together more about the Roman Republic and its influence in the Mediterranean. Schäfer speculates that the coins might have been hidden during a pirate invasion, a common occurrence in ancient times. It’s possible that the treasure was buried and forgotten because the site remained largely undisturbed for centuries.
