A treasure from two ancient shipwrecks was found by the IAA in Caesaria

A number of fascinating artifacts from the wrecks of two ships that foundered off the coast of Caesarea in the Roman and Mamluk periods (some 1700 and 600 years ago) have been discovered in recent months near Caesarea, during an underwater survey conducted by the Marine Archaeology Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The ships’ cargoes and the remains of their wrecked hulls were found scattered in shallow water at a depth of about 4 m, scattered on the sea floor. According to Jacob Sharvit and Dror Planer of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Marine Archaeology Unit, “The ships were probably anchored nearby and were wrecked by a storm. They may have been anchored offshore after getting into difficulty, or fearing stormy weather, because sailors know well that mooring in shallow, open water outside of a port is dangerous and prone to disaster.” The marine treasure includes hundreds of silver and bronze Roman coins from the mid-third century CE and a large hoard of silver coins from the Mamluk period (fou