Divers find record 2,000 gold coins off Israel's coast

The coins were found in the ancient harbor of Caesarea.

(Image credit: Twitter/CNN Breaking News)

published 18 February 2015

Members of a diving club were in for the adventure of a lifetime when they found roughly 2,000 gold coins in Israel's ancient harbor of Caesarea.

The 20 pounds of coins are more than 1,000 years old, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority. The haul marks the largest trove of gold coins ever found off Israel's Mediterranean coast. Yoli Schwartz, a spokesperson for the antiquities authority, told AFP the trove is "so valuable that it's priceless."

Experts believe the coins date to the Fatimid Caliphate, which ruled in the Middle East and North Africa from 909 to 1171, AFP reports. Kobi Sharvit, director of marine archaeology at the Israel Antiquities Authority, said the country would carry out further excavations to better understand the treasure's origin. Sharvit believes a treasury boat carrying a collection of taxes or military salaries was shipwrecked in the area.