Roman Silver Coins Unearthed On Remote Italian Island

ROME, Sept 3 (Bernama-dpa) -- Archaeologists have unearthed 27 Roman silver coins on a remote island in southern Italy believed to have been hidden from pirates, local authorities said on Monday, the German news agency (dpa) reported.

The coins, dated between 94 and 74 BC, were discovered in the same area where another 107 coins were found in 2010 on the remote island of Pantelleria, which lies in a stretch of sea between Tunisia and Sicily.

The site is also close to where the three famous statue heads of Caesar, Agrippina and Titus were recovered a few years earlier.

Archaeologists led by Thomas Schäfer of Germany's Universität Tübingen found the coins during a cleaning and restoration project in the Acropolis of San Marco and Santa Teresa, the region of Sicily said in a news release.

According to Schäfer, some of the silver coins resurfaced following rains, while the others were found under a large rock as the dig continued.

The archaeologist said he believes the small treasure may have been hidden during a pirate attack, a frequent occurrence at the time, and then was never recovered.

"In addition to the intrinsic value of the finds, this discovery offers valuable information for the reconstruction of events, trade contacts, and political relations that marked the Mediterranean in the Republican age," said regional councillor Francesco Paolo Scarpinato.

Schäfer called the site "wonderful", explaining that it had remained untouched for centuries. "It is the place that gave us back the “Comitium” where the decurions met: there are only five in the whole of Italy and this is the one in the best condition," he added.

-- BERNAMA-dpa