The E-Sylum:  Volume 7, Number 36, September 5, 2004, Article 7

DEAD SEA COIN HOARD

  From a September 1st article in an Israeli newspaper:
  "How did hundreds of thousands of bronze coins from the
  reign of Alexander Jannaeus (Yannai) end up on the bottom
  of the Dead Sea?

  For some years now rumors have been circulating among
  antiquities aficionados in Israel about a huge coin hoard
  discovered along the Dead Sea shore. According to Donald
  Zvi Ariel, head of the coin division at the Israel Antiquities
  Authority, an acquaintance from Haifa University approached
  him 15 years ago with an envelope containing 190 ancient
  coins. The contact recounted visiting the Dead Sea, at a
  spot somewhere south of Ein Feshkha, sticking his hand
  down into shallow water and bringing up a handful of coins
  from the bottom. Since the area where the coins were found
  is in the West Bank, Ariel refrained from examining them
  carefully and sent the envelope to the office of archaeological
  affairs at military government headquarters."

  Military officials in charge of archaeological finds looked into
  the matter, and the story also spread among antiquities thieves,
  assorted treasure seekers, and the antiquities dealers of East
  Jerusalem. Word of the discovery of a remarkably large coin
  hoard even appeared in several scholarly papers, but the affair
  was not widely publicized.  An article by Ariel about the
  hoard will appear in coming months in a periodical published
  by the Israel Exploration  Society."

  To read the full story, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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