Lost and Found

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Last year, an archeological team was stunned to discover a hoard of gold coins during excavations in the ancient Greek city of Notion, located in modern-day western Turkey.

It turned out these coins were Persian darics and were likely used to pay mercenary troops.

Lead archeologist Christopher Ratté of the University of Michigan described the valuable trove as a “very rare” find.

The coins depicted a kneeling archer, which was a typical design of the gold currency produced by the Persian Empire. Darics were gold coins created by the Persians from the late sixth Century BCE until Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian Empire in 330 BCE.

Researchers believe the Notion hoard was minted at Sardis, roughly 60 miles northeast of the city, according to Popular Science.

But its location and discovery could help shed more light on the ancient Greek city and the timeline of the gold coinage of the Achaemenid – the dynasty that ruled Persia until Alexander’s conquest.

“This hoard will provide a firm date that can serve as an anchor to help fix the chronology of the (entire sequence of coins),” Ratté said.

The best-preserved remains of Notion date back to the Hellenistic period, over the third to first centuries BCE, but the recent excavations suggest that it was likely inhabited even earlier.

The city has undergone various periods of rule by outside powers, including under Persian and Athenian control. Because of its strategic position on the border between the Persian and Athenian spheres of influence, it was a site of frequent military operations and political tension.

The Greek historian Thucydides documented conflicting loyalties of Notion and surrounding areas: Events such as the pro-Persian occupation of Notion between 430 BCE and 427 BCE and subsequent expulsion by Athenian forces could have led to the coins being buried and lost, according to Ratte.

“No one ever buries a hoard of coins, especially precious metal coins, without intending to retrieve it,” he added. “So only the gravest misfortune can explain the preservation of such a treasure.

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