Christianity ‘turned to archaeology to promote bible’ says expert
Experts have discovered a haul of ancient coins in Roman ruins in Serbia. Archaeologists excavating the area discovered 120 silver coins near to a coal mine in a cornfield in Kostolac. The site is thought to be the headquarters or principium of the VII Claudia Legion, a Roman military force which was stationed there.
It was also the capital of the Roman area of Moesia Superior.
The ruins are three feet beneath the surface, and in its prime some 2,000 years ago, it would have 40 rooms, a shrine, a treasury and a fountain.
Archaeologists excavating the site believe they have only uncovered four percent of the ruins, despite experts working on it since 1882.
In the 140 years, scientists have discovered a Roman ship, golden tiles, jade sculptures, mosaics, frescos and 14,000 tombs.
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Now the team have 120 silver coins to add to the collection, which may have been left there in a panic.
Lead archaeologist Nemanja Mrdjic said: “A very small number of principiums are explored completely [and] … so we can say [preservation of] this one is unique as it is undisturbed.
“The distribution of coins from a corner to the door… suggests they [the coins] spilled while someone was fleeing.”
Mr Mrdjic speculated that the individual who left them may have been fleeing a military invasion or a natural disaster.
The news comes on the back of a discovery from a birdwatcher in the UK who was lucky enough to find more than 1,300 coins dating to around 40 to 50 CE.
The coins were of Celtic origin and experts valued them at roughly £650 each, meaning he had discovered a collection worth £845,000.
The anonymous man told Treasure Hunting Magazine: “Although I am a keen detectorist, that evening I was doing a bit of bird watching.
“After watching a dogfight between a buzzard and a pair of Magpies, I stared down and spotted something lying in a bit of the deep ploughed soil which ran around the edge of the field.
“I saw the glint of gold and realised it was a beautiful Celtic gold stater, which made me sit down in sheer shock. I then spotted the second coin two feet away and rushed home to get my [metal detector].”
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