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BarKnight OP t1_iqyr5qa wrote

>Archaeologists in Israel say 44 pure gold coins dating to the 7th Century have been found hidden in a wall at a nature reserve

That it's been in a wall for well over 1000 years, makes me hopeful that there is still plenty of history out there to be found.

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_Mechaloth_ t1_iqzntee wrote

Especially in Japan, there are tenth and eleventh century troves of Buddhist sutras and guardian figurines that had been buried across the archipelago by monks who thought Buddhism was entering an age of decline. Many have been discovered, but it’s not improbable that there are still more out there.

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[deleted] t1_ir0btr8 wrote

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[deleted] t1_ir0p5fi wrote

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digitelle t1_ir0wblp wrote

And mexico/latin American. So much of it is covered in trees.

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ChristopherDuntsch t1_ir1vyfl wrote

I hope to hear and see many more discoveries like this, they are such interesting views into the past.

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jordantask t1_iqzzlib wrote

There is.

It was common for people who were about to be raided or invaded to bury valuables (especially coin) to prevent the invaders getting it.

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LesterKingOfAnts t1_ir0441r wrote

Oh, there is. I read recently that only 20% of ancient documents (hundreds of thousands, have been translated and studied. It is also estimated that 80% of ancient documents have been lost forever.

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ImportantCommentator t1_ir05kg0 wrote

But if 80% are lost forever wouldn't 20%. By the same as 100%?

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Bartsimho t1_ir0atbq wrote

It is 20% of the full 100% but 80% of 80% lost.

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FIGHT_ALEX t1_ir0cq02 wrote

This happens 60% of the time

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Mczern t1_ir0ku4w wrote

It's been long believed that the Mayans were the original creators of Sex Panther. Unfortunately the recipe and historical records were believed to be buried in order to protect them against the Spanish.

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TroutFishingInCanada t1_ir0nux7 wrote

The Aztec knockoff, Fornication Jaguar, is… okay.

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Arkanslayer t1_ir3clms wrote

Then we only have 16% left to discover. That doesn't sound as cool.

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Fidodo t1_ir05lzx wrote

That's it? I'd imagine it'd be much more that have been destroyed.

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G1trogFr0g t1_ir0c0ps wrote

Yes, but how much is smut, random ramblings of a students? Imagine somebody archiving all of Reddit as if anybody would want to study this message

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stickybobcat t1_ir0cmot wrote

Tell that to the fisherman's wife (pearl diver)

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Risley t1_ir0jalx wrote

Oh I did, I leaned over a bit and ripped a massive fart. In my tongue, she got the whole diatribe.

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idcidcidc666420 t1_ir3sf7z wrote

sure, that existed, but a ton was valuable. there was a huge amount of actual valuable Iiterature and scientific work at. for instance, the library of Alexandria and there are 100s of other similar instances.

tons of historical documents and government documents have been destroyed in fires over the years, especially in the 1800s. even in the modern day, huge archives of historical documents continue to burn up, such as in Brazil a couple years ago.

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idcidcidc666420 t1_ir3r3bu wrote

on top of that a lot are hoaxes or of otherwise questionable origin. quite a bit of what was once thought certain is not and there are a lot more hoaxes that haven't been found. there's a surprising amount of possible unknowns in our history- things that we think of as certain

https://www.unz.com/article/how-fake-is-roman-antiquity/#v=onepage&q=roman%20concrete%20harena%20fossicia&f=false

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LesterKingOfAnts t1_ir5fbkf wrote

That's interesting. I had never given too much thought about how hoaxes over the centuries could become thought of as "real history".

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banterviking t1_ir0l3bb wrote

Dude don't worry - every 20 seconds, an Italian trips over a newly discovered ruin. Statistically, one did in the time it took me to say this!

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MihoWigo t1_ir2z7c3 wrote

Our tour guide in Rome was an archeology student. He said anytime they try and put in a subway system they find ancient stuff during the tunnel boring, which shuts down the construction indefinitely. He said he didn’t think they’d ever get an efficient subway in the city for this reason.

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felplanhalva t1_ir0qwml wrote

Oh there is. Most of the structures we find (note: find, we find new sites every year) are buried underground because of dirt accumulation and natural growth of nature.

Not even the Great Sphinx, which is massive, was above ground. Even some pyramids in Egypt had to be excavated.

We find new things every year, even in Egypt (one of the most researched sites in the world).

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Dassiell t1_ir2h348 wrote

I mean i guess if they werent buried we also wouldnt really need to “find” them.

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jalif t1_ir02t7e wrote

Every time they dig in the middle east they find history.

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boonxeven t1_ir1c89y wrote

I'd bet there's at least 1 more history to be found.

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Cyanopicacooki t1_ir1e1sm wrote

Go to YouTube and look up "Time Team Classics" - this was a TV series from about 20 years ago that ran for a decade about archeological digs in Britain, one of the most heavily dug countries in the world. Every time they dug, they found something new - as Calvin said "There's treasure everywhere!"

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[deleted] t1_iqzg067 wrote

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The_Bearded_Jedi t1_iqzdccl wrote

I wonder how much all of that is worth now

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[deleted] t1_iqzem4l wrote

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[deleted] t1_iqzhe4r wrote

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cesarmac t1_iqzj7il wrote

If I go by the coins in the pic which appear to be roughly the size of a quarter then I'd say each coin is about 1 ounce. So roughly $60k-$80k at face value but maybe different if a collector is allowed to buy it.

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_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ t1_iqzuwj4 wrote

That’s not the face value, that’s the bullion value.

The face value is what is written on it.

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unassumingdink t1_iqzygfy wrote

Article says the total weight is 170g, which would be about $9400 for just the gold value today.

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Alex_GordonAMA t1_ir1a6su wrote

I mean literally the first sentence in the link says the total is 170grams (6oz) lol. So each coin is .136 ounces...

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hereforthekix t1_ir0d76h wrote

Clearly an ounce is much lighter on ttour planet than it is on earth.
There's no way one of those coins is 28 grams

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Artemis7274 t1_ir1te36 wrote

Gold is measured in troy ounces, which is 31.1gs, even heavier

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froginbog t1_iqzf3pu wrote

I wonder what tragedy led to it being stashed there and never retrieved

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doctorwhomafia t1_iqzijlr wrote

7th Century Palestine, would be roughly around the time when the Arabs conquered the area from the Greco-Romans.

So my guess maybe someone tried hiding the coins so they wouldn't be looted. Hard to say the exact reason. But the owner most likely died or left to never return

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flyinggazelletg t1_iqziryb wrote

Friendly reminder to read the articles posted, bc it answers your question within the first couple of sentences. Also, it’s extremely short.

Before reading the article, I was assuming the Arab invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire or the Roman/Byzantine reconquest of their eastern and southern territories from the Persians were most likely. After reading the article, it seems experts have pegged the Arab invasion as the likeliest explanation, which makes sense.

Decades of war weakened the Byzantines and the Sassanid Persians, allowing the previously relatively minor Arab tribes to conquer the entirety of the Persian Empire and much of the Eastern Roman Empire (although, the Roman/Byzantine state would survive for another 800 years til 1453).

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[deleted] t1_iqznfq6 wrote

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HermanCainsGhost t1_ir1j4lu wrote

Either the Byzantine-Persian war, or the Arab conquest would be my guess. Those would have been the two major conflicts in the region in the 7th century.

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cremona_goblin t1_iqzm1xd wrote

This is so interesting to me. When my grandfather passed away my dad and his sister, my aunt, went to his house to clean everything out and what not. They found all of his savings in cash in the walls (? Or maybe closet, just somewhere hidden). I guess it’s just a natural human naturey thing to do

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the_backpack t1_ir0elo4 wrote

it's more common among certain generations

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Philadelphia_Bawlins t1_ir1kmvo wrote

yep worked in construction in my younger days. In PA, the people that went through The Great Depression tended not to trust banks. Found all sorts of stuff in walls and foundations. Money, Guns, tons of nude photos, and always razor blades in bathroom walls.

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TheCylonsAreHere t1_ir0nn02 wrote

“7th century knowledge hidden behind paywall”

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[deleted] t1_ir00qwk wrote

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BillyBobBanana t1_ir0l7zb wrote

Title looks like a time-thief hid them in the 7th century

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Tyalou t1_ir1sxxn wrote

They were just running away with the coins, went back in time and miscalculated the existence of a wall. Got stuck there but the coins happened to travel into a stash right next to our walled thief.

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ChuCHuPALX t1_ir1ow7h wrote

How much is one of these coins worth?

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TikkiTakiTomtom t1_ir0hjmu wrote

Damn. Technology these days never fail to impress me. I wonder how far back they can go next time to find treasure in a wall.

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Tyalou t1_ir1tbuj wrote

It looks more to me like a generation of rpg completionists who poke at every wall to find the hidden things. You not only need the technology, you need to use it everywhere!

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AstralLiving t1_ir3ekle wrote

There's always money in the banana stand.

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Some_Tie2395 t1_irdhwqy wrote

This thread just gives me the chance to brag that I once found an old roman coin in Germany with a metal detector.

I literally just opened the thing from amazon and found it in 15 minutes.

Haven't found anything since.

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