Storm of Gold

In the winter of 2010, a huge storm hit the shores of Israel, causing a substantial amount of damage to archaeological sites. At the time, I reported on damage at Caesarea and Ashdod, but also how it uncovered a marble sculpture of Venus along the shores of Ascalon, which was found by chance by a local resident (see Diggings, January 2011).

This past winter, Israel again experienced a combination of flooding rain and high tides, which again resulted in the uncovering of an exceptional archaeological hoard of 2000 gold coins dating to the tenth century a.d. 

The first coins were found by divers of a local diving club on a routine dive soon after the storm. Being good citizens, they reported this to the Israel Antiquities Authority, whose Marine archaeology unit uncovered the rest.