ROME, ITALY—According to a Reuters report, 27 silver Roman coins were discovered in the ancient Greek acropolis on the remote Mediterranean island of Pantelleria by a team of researchers led by archaeologist Thomas Schaefer of the University of Tübingen. He thinks that the coins, which first surfaced in loose soil after heavy rains, may have been hidden during a pirate attack. Additional coins were later found under a nearby rock. Analysis of the coins shows that they were minted in Rome between 94 and 74 B.C. “This discovery…offers valuable information for the reconstruction of the events, trade contacts, and political relations that marked the Mediterranean in the Republican age,” commented regional councilor for cultural heritage Francesco Paolo Scarpinato. To read more about Roman currency, go to "Suspicious Silver."
