COINS HELP WITH BYZANTINE MONASTERY EXCAVATION

Archaeological experts from the University of Alicante in Spain have recently identified the first Byzantine monastery ever found on the Iberian peninsula.

They first came across several round metal objects at the archaeological site, which is located in the area of Elda, Alicante. The exact identification of these objects had proven to be a mystery since the 19th century.

In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian forced people to keep a cache of state-minted coins in the main churches of each city. In this way, merchants could show that the coinage they used in economic transactions corresponded with the official money that the Emperor had minted.

The churches used to work as guarantors that buyers of precious metals were not cheated and that the coins in general use had the actual value that they were meant to have. If the operations were fraudulent, the tax revenue was lower — something the Emperor kept close tabs on.

"This apparently is how the monastery of "El Monastil" functioned as a Byzantine administrative and fiscal headquarters by order of the emperor," explains Antonio Manuel Poveda, a professor of Ancient History and director of the Archaeological Museum of Elda.

To read the complete article, see:
First Byzantine Monastery Discovered in Spain (https://eu.greekreporter.com/2020/01/22/first-byzantine-monastery-discovered-in-spain/)

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