Archaeologists in Israel have discovered the remnants of two shipwrecks off the Mediterranean coast, replete with a sunken trove of hundreds Roman and medieval silver coins. The finds made near the ancient city of Caesarea were dated to the Roman and Mamluk periods, about 1,700 and 600 years ago, archaeologists said. They include hundreds of Roman silver and bronze coins dating to the mid-third century, as well as more than 500 silver coins from the middle ages found amid the sediment. Photograph: Israel Antiquities Authority/Rex/ShutterstockThey were found during an underwater survey conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority’s marine archaeology unit in the past two months, said Jacob Sharvit, the head of the unit, on Wednesday. Photograph: Israel Antiquities Authority/Rex/Shutterstock“On the gemstone is engraved an image of the ‘good shepherd’, which is really one of the earliest symbols of Christianity,” he said.

Source: The Guardian December 23, 2021 03:22 UTC