Treasure Trove Of Arabic Coins Dated Back 1,000 Years Unearthed In Graveyard In Poland

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - The First News reports that about seventy Arab coins have been discovered on the graveyard near the town of Kamień Pomorskie in the north-west, not far from the German border.

Archaeologists say the coins date back some 1,000 years but it remains unclear how the coins came to be buried in the cemetery.

Treasure hunters strike gold after finding a treasure trove of coins dating back 1,000 years. Stowarzyszenie Eksploracyjne Na Rzecz Ratowania Zabytków im. św. Korduli /Facebook

Most likely the coins came to the region in the first place as a result of trade between various peoples of Europe and the Arab world.

“After moving some foliage I noticed a grey object sticking out of the ground,” said Tomasz Rindfleiesch, from the team of archaeologists that discovered the treasure.

“It turned out to be part of an Arab coin called a dirham. After a moment Mariusz [his colleague] noticed another one, this time in its entirety.

Being silver the coins would have retained considerable value after the original transaction and as a consequence many were cut up into smaller amounts to make them handy for day-to-day purchases. Stowarzyszenie Eksploracyjne Na Rzecz Ratowania Zabytków im. św. Korduli /Facebook

“Historians and treasure hunters know very well that one item could be treated as something lost, but discovering two set off warning lights in our heads that we were perhaps dealing with real treasure,” he added.

The team contacted the authorities and got permission to launch a formal dig on the site. So far they have unearthed about dozens items including one whole coin and many pieces of other coins.

Being silver the coins would have retained considerable value after the original transaction and as a consequence many were cut up into smaller amounts to make them handy for day-to-day purchases.

Along with the silver the team also dug up an ancient fragment of pottery with Slavic markings on it, and the remains of a German Mauser rifle dating back to the Second World War.

Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer