Whoever hid the gold coins between the stones of the wall probably fled the city, fearing invasion. Perhaps they planned to retrieve their treasure later—but it seems they were unsuccessful.
Some 1,400 years ago, the ancient city of Paneas (later called Banias), located near Israel’s northern border, was beset by Muslim conquest during the establishment and expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate. Now, with new artifacts emerging from the ruins, archeologists are bringing more of that history to light.
A recent excavation at Banias, in Hermon Stream Nature Reserve, produced 44 Byzantine-age pure gold coins from a stone structure in a project conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). This was initiated before the connecting of the adjacent Druze holy site Maqam Nabi Khadr with the Israeli national electricity grid, the IAA stated in a press release.
Anticipating Muslim raiders, a local resident during the early seventh century might have stashed their savings here to keep them safe before taking flight, archaeologists from the IAA believe. For whatever reason, they would never reclaim the coins.
“The coin hoard, weighing about 170 g, was concealed within the base of an ashlar stone wall at the time of the Muslim conquest,” said Dr. Yoav Lerer, director of the excavation with the IAA. “The discovery reflects a specific moment in time when we can imagine the owner concealing his fortune in the threat of war, hoping to return one day to retrieve his property. In retrospect, we know that he was less fortunate.
“The discovery of the coin hoard may also shed light on the economy of the city of Banias during the last 40 years of Byzantine rule.”
Experts determined that the treasure consists entirely of gold solidus coins, some bearing the likeness of Emperor Phocas (602 to 610); others were minted by Emperor Heraclius (610 to 641), dating the hoard to the time of the Muslim conquest of Byzantine Palestine in 635, according to Dr. Gabriela Bijovsky, an IAA numismatic expert.
“Most of the coins are of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius,” Dr. Bijovsky said. “And what is particularly interesting is that in his early years as emperor, only his portrait was depicted on the coin, whereas after a short time, the images of his sons also appear. One can actually follow his sons growing up—from childhood until their image appears the same size as their father, who is depicted with a long beard.”
The dig site, located in a northwestern residential quarter of the ancient city, has yielded the remains of buildings, water channels, pipes, and a Byzantine church (possibly of St. Peter). From this, researchers have exhumed a pottery kiln, bronze coins, fragments of pottery and glass, and metal artifacts—all of which date from late Byzantium to the early Middle Ages.
The ancient city was first settled surrounding a large spring by the Canaanites where they erected a shrine to the god Baal; while in Hellenistic times, Banias was devoted to the god Pan (hence Paneas). During Roman times, at the city’s height, Herod the Great and his son Philip II rebuilt the city and renamed it Caesarea Philippi, in honor of the Roman Emperor Augustus.
Christian tradition holds that the area of Banias is where the Apostle Peter proclaimed Jesus to be the Christ, and where Jesus then gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. During the Byzantine era, a church was built beside the spring. Later, in 1129 crusaders fortified the city and established a staging point to invade Damascus, but this was short-lived for Muslims took the city in 1132.
Recently, the remains of a mosaic floor and a stone engraved with several crosses were unearthed from the church. This may indicate that Banias became a Christian pilgrim site at some point, said Raya Shurky, director of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
Now, both the IAA and Israel Nature and Parks Authority are cooperating to open the ruins and exhibit the gold hoard to park visitors. The coins in particular offer fresh insight into this transitional period in history, said Eli Escusido, director of the IAA, not only in Banias but across the entire region of the Levant.
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