Tens of thousands of ancient Roman coins were found off the coast of Sardinia thanks to a big-eyed diver

Scientists are delighted with the unique numismatic discovery

Tens of thousands of ancient coins have been found off the coast of Sardinia. Perhaps these are treasures that ended up at the bottom of the sea after a shipwreck, scientists suggest.

A diver’s sighting of some metal objects off the coast of Sardinia has led to the discovery of tens of thousands of ancient bronze coins, the Associated Press reports.

Italy’s Culture Ministry said Saturday that the diver alerted authorities, who sent the divers assigned to the art protection unit along with other members of the ministry’s underwater archeology unit.

The coins, dating from the first half of the fourth century, were found in seagrass beds off the north-eastern coast of the Mediterranean island. The ministry did not say exactly when the first diver noticed something metallic off the coast of Sardinia, near the town of Arzachena.

The exact number of coins recovered has not yet been determined, as they are in the sorting stage, notes the Associated Press. A statement from the Italian Ministry of Culture claims there are at least about 30,000 of them, and possibly as many as 50,000 based on their total weight.

This makes the underwater treasure approximately twice as large as that discovered in 2013 in the United Kingdom at Seaton, when a total of 22,888 bronze coins were found.

According to the publication L’Unione Sarda, we are talking about follis – large bronze coins introduced into circulation in 294 AD in connection with the monetary reform of Emperor Diocletian. The chronological context of the coins can be found in the time span between 324 (minted by Licinius) and 340 AD. In addition to the coins, amphorae walls of African origin and, in smaller quantities, of Eastern origin were also discovered.

“All coins were in excellent and rare condition,” the ministry said. Legible inscriptions can still be discerned on several damaged coins, the Italian Ministry of Culture said in a statement.

“The treasure found in the waters off Arzachena represents one of the most important discoveries in the field of coins,” said Luigi La Rocca, spokesman for Sardinia’s archeology department.

La Rocca added in a statement that the amazing find serves as “further evidence of the richness and importance of the archaeological heritage that still preserves the bottom of our seas, crisscrossed by the people and goods of ancient eras.”

Fire service divers and border police divers were also involved in the search and recovery of the coins, the Associated Press reported.

According to the Italian Ministry of Culture, the coins were mostly found in a large area of ​​sand between underwater marine vegetation and the beach. Given the location and shape of the seabed, there may be remains of a shipwreck nearby, the ministry said.