Yotam Dahan, a resident of Klil, arrived at a campsite on Habonim Beach and found a block of antique coins weighing 6 kg. For commercial operations, "archaeologists said.
Dahan, a guide in his profession, posted on Facebook about the surprising find and then contacted him as Karem Said, director of the Haifa District of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the two met this morning.
Dahan said the block of coins was located 70 meters from the water, not far from the tent where he and his family were staying:
Coins Found, Ofir Hayat
The coins, which had been in the water for hundreds of years, became one stick. Preliminary identification by Dr. Donald Zvi-Ariel, a coin expert at the Israel Antiquities Authority, shows that these are coins from the beginning of the fourth century AD. Yaakov Sharvit, director of the Marine Archeology Unit at the Antiquities Authority, stated: Nami, there are many declared archeological sites - at sea and on the coast, which testify to human activity in the area from the Neolithic period - about 9,000 years ago. Beginning in the Middle Bronze Age about 4,000 years ago, evidence of extensive marine activity at the site is known. The changing coastline during the summer and winter seasons, and changes in sea level, created a kind of "marina" - a natural mooring in the place, and this served as a shelter for vessels that stopped for overnight mooring or took refuge from a storm. "
The archaeological evidence left in the area indicates that people were often in distress and their ship was wrecked ashore along with the cargo that was on board.
According to Sharvit: "The large accumulation of coins, which were found together in the block, and the remnants of cloth left on it, indicate that they were together in the bag, and as a result of the metal oxidation in the marine environment the coins stuck together into a large block."
Yotam Dahan with the certificate of appreciation, Yotam Dahan
Karem Said, director of the Haifa District of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who met with Yotam Dahan to identify the exact location of the coins and hand over the certificate of appreciation, stressed his gratitude and appreciation for his good citizenship: