BOLOGNA, ITALY—More than 3,000 coins and 50 gems have been unearthed in northern Italy at the site of the Roman town of Claterna, according to a Live Science report. Most of the coins are made of silver and bronze. One of the coins has been identified as a quinarius, a silver coin minted in 97 B.C. by the Roman Republic. Discovered in a corridor at a theater, the quinarius helped researchers date the structure. The variety of coins also suggests that the city was a trading center with direct contacts to Rome, explained Lucia Borgonzoni of Italy’s Ministry of Culture. The gems, meanwhile, were carved with images of deities and important structures, including the theater where the quinarius was recovered, she added. For more on Roman coinage, go to "Suspicious Silver."
Roman Coins and Gems Recovered in Claterna
News November 17, 2023
![Italy Claterna Gems](https://archaeology.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Italy-Claterna-Gems-a66.jpg)
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries May/June 2024
Pompeian Politics
![](https://archaeology.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/MJ24-DD-Italy-Pompeii-Lararium.HEADER.jpg)
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2021
A Trip to Venice
![](https://archaeology.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ND21-Digs-Italy-Venice-Roman-Road-Reconstruction.jpg)
(Antonio Calandriello and Giuseppe D'Acunto (Università Iuav di Venezia))
Digs & Discoveries March/April 2021
More Vesuvius Victims
![](https://archaeology.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DD_Vesuvius.jpg)
Courtesy Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2020
Missing Mosaics
![](https://archaeology.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Digs-Italy-Mosaics-Composite.jpg)
(Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle arti e paesaggio per le province di Verona, Rovigo e Vicenza)
-
Artifacts September/October 2023
Padlock
(Courtesy James Davidson) -
Around the World September/October 2023
Australia
(Flinders University) -
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2023
Nose to Tail
-
Features September/October 2023
Ukraine's Lost Capital
In 1708, Peter the Great destroyed Baturyn, a bastion of Cossack independence and culture