An 8-year-old boy made an astonishing discovery while playing in a sandbox at his elementary school in the northern German city of Bremen: a 1,800-year-old silver coin minted between AD 161 and 180 during the Pax Romana (Roman Peace), the heyday of the Roman Empire. The rather worn-out coin, weighing 2.4 grams, was minted during a "period of currency decline" when the Roman Empire reduced the silver content of its coins as a result of inflation, according to Uta Halle, the state archaeologist who works at the city's university.
Although this area of Germany was never under Roman rule, it was inhabited by the Ceausi, an ancient Germanic tribe that had frequent trade relations with ancient Romans. This could explain how the coin came to German soil.
The ancient Roman dinar discovered in Bremen,
According to Hala, this find is "something very special," as it is one of the few times a dinar has been discovered in Bremen.She hopes the dinar will be displayed at the Focke Museum in Bremen, where she heads the Department of Prehistory and Early History.
Bjarna, the boy who found the coin, will not be able to keep it for himself, because such artifacts belong to the state, according to Bremen's Historical Items Protection Law. However, archaeologists have praised him for his "vigilance and curiosity" and plan to award him two archaeology books as a reward.
(Article written with the assistance of Perplexity)
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