An Immense Cache of Bronze Coins Unearthed Near Sardinia Could Be Linked to an Ancient Shipwreck

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The remarkable discovery of a vast number of antique bronze coins near the shores of Sardinia has been traced back to the observant eye of a scuba diver who noticed a metallic glint underwater.

On Saturday, the Italian Ministry of Culture reported that following the diver’s notification, a team comprising both the art protection squad divers and specialists from the ministry’s subaquatic archaeology division was deployed to the site.

These coins, which hail from the early decades of the fourth century, were nestled amid the oceanic plant life in proximity to the island’s northeastern coastline. While the ministry has not specified the exact timing of the original sighting by the diver near Arzachena, it has sparked considerable archaeological interest.

The precise tally of the coins recovered remains to be concluded as they are still undergoing classification and cataloging. However, an initial assessment by the ministry indicates a minimum count of 30,000 coins, which may extend up to 50,000, deduced from their aggregate weight.

The state of preservation of the coins is extraordinary and uncommon, as announced by the ministry. Even those few coins that exhibited signs of damage were still inscribed clearly enough to be legible.

According to Luigi La Rocca, an official with Sardinia’s archaeological department, “The hoard retrieved near Arzachena is one of the most significant numismatic finds in recent times.”

He further expounded in his statement that the discovery “attests to the wealth and significance of the archaeological assets that still lie hidden within our seas, which have been traversed by people and goods since the earliest times.”

The recovery operation also saw the participation of diver teams from the fire brigade and the border patrol, contributing to the effort of locating and salvaging the coins.

Situated predominantly in a spacious tract of sand bridging the sea grass beds and the shoreline, the coins’ location suggests the potential proximity of an ancient shipwreck, given the contours and characteristics of the ocean floor, as per the ministry’s speculation.

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More about ancient coin discovery Sardinia

• Underwater Archaeology in Sardinia
• Italian Ministry of Culture’s Recent Discoveries
• Conservation of Marine Artifacts
• Numismatic Studies and Ancient Coinage
• Sardinia’s Historical Shipwrecks