A hoard of gold coins recently discovered off Israel became more personable Wednesday when The Telegraph published a video credited to ITN that shows divers recovering them from the seabed.
Almost 2,000 coins dating back to the 11th century Fatimid-period were found in the ancient harbor in Caesarea National Park, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced earlier this week. The find is reported as the largest treasure of gold coins ever discovered in Israel, and it was completely by chance.
The divers, members of a local scuba club, will always have the thrill of their discovery but they will not get any the coins.
"The Law of Antiquities states that all antiquities belong to the state and that not reporting or removing antiquities from their location, or selling or trading them is an offense punishable by up to five years imprisonment," said Kobi Sharvit, director of the Marine Archaeology Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority. "In this case the divers reported the find; but in many instances divers take the objects home and that way extremely important archaeological information is lost forever, which cannot be recovered."
Sharvit said the divers, Tzvika Feuer, Kobi Tweena, Avivit Fishler, Yoav Lavi and Yoel Miller, are model citizens who have hearts of gold that love their country and its history.
Here’s the video published by The Telegraph.
