Israeli divers find 11th century coin haul

A group of amateur Israeli divers have stumbled upon the largest collection of medi-evIl gold coins ever found in the country.

The coins date back to the 11th century and are likely to have come from a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said the find consists of 2,000 coins, weighing about 6 kilograms.

Kobi Sharvit, director of the authority’s marine archaeology unit, says the coins were most likely swept up in recent storms near the Israeli port city of Caesarea.

He says they probably came from a boat that sank on its way to deliver tax money to Egypt about 1,000 years ago, or that it came from a merchant ship trading among Mediterranean coastal cities.

He says it is “fascinating and rare historical evidence” from the Fatimid era.

The largest treasure of gold coins discovered in Israel was found on the seabed in the ancient harbour in Caesarea,” pic.twitter.com/G9auwpbMOz

— Israel News Flash (@ILNewsFlash) February 18, 2015