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BarKnight OP t1_iqyr5qa wrote

>Archaeologists in Israel say 44 pure gold coins dating to the 7th Century have been found hidden in a wall at a nature reserve

That it's been in a wall for well over 1000 years, makes me hopeful that there is still plenty of history out there to be found.

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froginbog t1_iqzf3pu wrote

I wonder what tragedy led to it being stashed there and never retrieved

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doctorwhomafia t1_iqzijlr wrote

Replying to froginbog (#26,525)

7th Century Palestine, would be roughly around the time when the Arabs conquered the area from the Greco-Romans.

So my guess maybe someone tried hiding the coins so they wouldn't be looted. Hard to say the exact reason. But the owner most likely died or left to never return

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flyinggazelletg t1_iqziryb wrote

Replying to froginbog (#26,525)

Friendly reminder to read the articles posted, bc it answers your question within the first couple of sentences. Also, it’s extremely short.

Before reading the article, I was assuming the Arab invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire or the Roman/Byzantine reconquest of their eastern and southern territories from the Persians were most likely. After reading the article, it seems experts have pegged the Arab invasion as the likeliest explanation, which makes sense.

Decades of war weakened the Byzantines and the Sassanid Persians, allowing the previously relatively minor Arab tribes to conquer the entirety of the Persian Empire and much of the Eastern Roman Empire (although, the Roman/Byzantine state would survive for another 800 years til 1453).

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cesarmac t1_iqzj7il wrote

Replying to The_Bearded_Jedi (#26,441)

If I go by the coins in the pic which appear to be roughly the size of a quarter then I'd say each coin is about 1 ounce. So roughly $60k-$80k at face value but maybe different if a collector is allowed to buy it.

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cremona_goblin t1_iqzm1xd wrote

This is so interesting to me. When my grandfather passed away my dad and his sister, my aunt, went to his house to clean everything out and what not. They found all of his savings in cash in the walls (? Or maybe closet, just somewhere hidden). I guess it’s just a natural human naturey thing to do

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_Mechaloth_ t1_iqzntee wrote

Replying to BarKnight (#25,580)

Especially in Japan, there are tenth and eleventh century troves of Buddhist sutras and guardian figurines that had been buried across the archipelago by monks who thought Buddhism was entering an age of decline. Many have been discovered, but it’s not improbable that there are still more out there.

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LesterKingOfAnts t1_ir0441r wrote

Replying to BarKnight (#25,580)

Oh, there is. I read recently that only 20% of ancient documents (hundreds of thousands, have been translated and studied. It is also estimated that 80% of ancient documents have been lost forever.

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TikkiTakiTomtom t1_ir0hjmu wrote

Damn. Technology these days never fail to impress me. I wonder how far back they can go next time to find treasure in a wall.

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Mczern t1_ir0ku4w wrote

Replying to FIGHT_ALEX (#27,893)

It's been long believed that the Mayans were the original creators of Sex Panther. Unfortunately the recipe and historical records were believed to be buried in order to protect them against the Spanish.

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BillyBobBanana t1_ir0l7zb wrote

Title looks like a time-thief hid them in the 7th century

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TheCylonsAreHere t1_ir0nn02 wrote

“7th century knowledge hidden behind paywall”

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felplanhalva t1_ir0qwml wrote

Replying to BarKnight (#25,580)

Oh there is. Most of the structures we find (note: find, we find new sites every year) are buried underground because of dirt accumulation and natural growth of nature.

Not even the Great Sphinx, which is massive, was above ground. Even some pyramids in Egypt had to be excavated.

We find new things every year, even in Egypt (one of the most researched sites in the world).

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Cyanopicacooki t1_ir1e1sm wrote

Replying to BarKnight (#25,580)

Go to YouTube and look up "Time Team Classics" - this was a TV series from about 20 years ago that ran for a decade about archeological digs in Britain, one of the most heavily dug countries in the world. Every time they dug, they found something new - as Calvin said "There's treasure everywhere!"

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Philadelphia_Bawlins t1_ir1kmvo wrote

Replying to the_backpack (#27,985)

yep worked in construction in my younger days. In PA, the people that went through The Great Depression tended not to trust banks. Found all sorts of stuff in walls and foundations. Money, Guns, tons of nude photos, and always razor blades in bathroom walls.

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ChuCHuPALX t1_ir1ow7h wrote

How much is one of these coins worth?

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Tyalou t1_ir1sxxn wrote

Replying to BillyBobBanana (#28,360)

They were just running away with the coins, went back in time and miscalculated the existence of a wall. Got stuck there but the coins happened to travel into a stash right next to our walled thief.

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Tyalou t1_ir1tbuj wrote

Replying to TikkiTakiTomtom (#28,150)

It looks more to me like a generation of rpg completionists who poke at every wall to find the hidden things. You not only need the technology, you need to use it everywhere!

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MihoWigo t1_ir2z7c3 wrote

Replying to banterviking (#28,352)

Our tour guide in Rome was an archeology student. He said anytime they try and put in a subway system they find ancient stuff during the tunnel boring, which shuts down the construction indefinitely. He said he didn’t think they’d ever get an efficient subway in the city for this reason.

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AstralLiving t1_ir3ekle wrote

There's always money in the banana stand.

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idcidcidc666420 t1_ir3r3bu wrote

Replying to LesterKingOfAnts (#27,454)

on top of that a lot are hoaxes or of otherwise questionable origin. quite a bit of what was once thought certain is not and there are a lot more hoaxes that haven't been found. there's a surprising amount of possible unknowns in our history- things that we think of as certain

https://www.unz.com/article/how-fake-is-roman-antiquity/#v=onepage&q=roman%20concrete%20harena%20fossicia&f=false

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idcidcidc666420 t1_ir3sf7z wrote

Replying to G1trogFr0g (#27,862)

sure, that existed, but a ton was valuable. there was a huge amount of actual valuable Iiterature and scientific work at. for instance, the library of Alexandria and there are 100s of other similar instances.

tons of historical documents and government documents have been destroyed in fires over the years, especially in the 1800s. even in the modern day, huge archives of historical documents continue to burn up, such as in Brazil a couple years ago.

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Some_Tie2395 t1_irdhwqy wrote

This thread just gives me the chance to brag that I once found an old roman coin in Germany with a metal detector.

I literally just opened the thing from amazon and found it in 15 minutes.

Haven't found anything since.

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