AMMAN: Archaeologists discovered a trove of gold coins in East Jerusalem over the summer that date back to the Abbasid period around 1,100 years ago, it has emerged.
The 450 gold coins, all in good condition, were discovered on Aug. 18, but the find was only publicized on Monday.
“This is the first time we have discovered this kind of treasure in fifty years,” Palestinian Kamil Sari, the head of the northern regional office of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, told Arab News.
“After the archeologists digging near the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem had taken pottery jars for close cleaning and inspection, a volunteer sifting through found the coins.”
Archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority David Gellman shows a small pottery jug with four pure gold coins found inside it, at the archaeological rescue excavation in the Old City of Jerusalem, on November 9, 2020. (AFP)
Sari said that some of the coins were made of pure gold, and dated to 946 AD. Some were minted in the city of Ramleh, and the others were minted in Cairo.
The Haifa-based archeological official told Arab News that a month ago more coins from the Islamic period were discovered.
Nazim Al-Jubeh, a Palestinian archeologist and professor of history and archeology at Bir Zeit University, told Arab News: “This was an important discovery because it helps illuminate the Abbasid period which some have tried to dismiss as being a step back in civilization after the successful Byzantine period.”
The discovery, made in occupied East Jerusalem near to Al-Aqsa Mosque, has been described by the Israeli Antiquities Authority as a “rare” find.
Archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority Evgeniya Rabinovich shows a small pottery jug with four pure gold coins found inside it, at the archaeological rescue excavation site in the Old City of Jerusalem, on November 9, 2020. (AFP)
The Associated Press (AP) said that the trove, “which was unearthed by youth volunteers, also included hundreds of smaller clippings from gold coins that would have served as smaller denominations.”
AP quoted Robert Kool, a coin expert, who said “an initial analysis indicates the coins date from the late 9th century, considered the golden age of the Abbasid Caliphate that controlled most of the Near East and North Africa.”
Nazmi Al-Jubeh said that archeologists from around the world, including Israel, were slowly changing the narrative about the Abbasid, Umayyad, and Ayyubid Islamic periods.
A small pottery jug with four pure gold coins found inside it by the Israel Antiquities Authority are displayed at the archaeological rescue excavation site in the Old City of Jerusalem, on November 9, 2020. (AFP)
“Previously archeologists have claimed that, since they had no major monuments representing them, that means that their civilization was nothing to talk about.”
Al-Jubeh said that the latest discovery, plus much of the discoveries of recent years, had caused historians and archeologists to revise their theories.
He said that the coins, found in occupied Palestinian lands, should be returned to Palestine as per international law.
A senior Jordanian source familiar with the situation told Arab news that Palestinians and Jordanians annually submit a report to UNESCO demanding the return of all archeological discoveries taken from the occupied territories in violation of international law.
