Archaeologists discovered a 2400-year-old treasure: whose tragic secret is hidden in the jar.

According to ТСН: Archaeologists in the ancient city of Notion, located on the Aegean coast of Turkey, discovered a small clay pot filled with Persian gold coins, buried approximately 2400 years ago. This find likely unveils a tragic secret.

A chance discovery of a mysterious treasure

The treasure originates from Notion, an ancient coastal city between Persia and Athens. It is possible that the pot of coins served as payment for hired soldiers, and its owner planned to return for it, but some unforeseen circumstances interrupted those plans.

The research was led by Christopher Ratte, a professor of archaeology and ancient art at the University of Michigan. His work focuses on the connections between classical cities and political changes in the eastern Mediterranean.

Ratte's team was excavating a courtyard where a later Hellenistic house stood above an earlier dwelling of the classical era. Beneath the stone floor of the inner courtyard, near a collapsed wall, the archaeologists stumbled upon a narrow room of an old house, where they found a clay jar with gold coins in the corner.

According to Ratte, 'Discovering such a valuable find during controlled archaeological excavations is very rare.' He noted that no one hides gold in such a manner without the intent to return; therefore, there may have been a great misfortune during the burial.

Details about the coins

The coins are high-quality royal coins that were used in the Persian Empire. They were introduced during the reign of King Darius I, weighed about 8.4 grams, and were made of pure gold. The design of the coins remained unchanged for centuries, allowing experts to determine their origin by slight variations in the image of the archer.

Ancient writers considered these coins primarily as payment for soldiers in the Achaemenid Empire rather than as everyday change. In his work 'Anabasis,' Xenophon describes how the Persians paid Greek troops one gold daric each month; therefore, the owner of these coins likely saved them over a long period.

Any unexpected defeat, arrest, or death during travel could have resulted in the pot being left beneath the floor, becoming the last trace of this person's wages.

This discovery not only sheds light on ancient practices related to funding military campaigns but also opens new horizons for understanding what unforeseen circumstances may have occurred in the lives of ordinary people at that time. Such discoveries become important foundations for studying history, as each artifact has its unique story.