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‘Atiqot 74 (2013)
ISBN 2948-040X
Underwater Ptolemaic Coin Hoards from Megadim
(pp. 1–8)
Danny Syon, Catharine Lorber and Ehud Galili
Keywords: Mediterranean coast, numismatics, marine archaeology, shipwreck, mint, commerce, trade
In the shallow underwater zone adjacent to Nahal Megadim on the Carmel coast, a concentration of bronze objects, among them coins from the Hellenistic and Mamluk periods, were discovered. The coins belonged to three hoards: 55 medium-sized Ptolemaic bronze coins (Hoard 1), probably from the joint reign of Cleopatra III and Ptolemy IX; 19 silver tetradrachms (Hoard 2), ranging from Ptolemy VIII to Ptolemy X (152/1–100/99 BCE); and 10 bronze coins that were found within an amphora (Hoard 3), dating between c. 180(?) and 168 BCE. It is likely that the Ptolemaic silver coins of Hoard 2 belonged to the ship’s owner, a crew member or a passenger, and were current at the time the ship was lost, thus suggesting that the ship was Ptolemaic. The presence of Ptolemaic, Seleucid and Lycian coins in Hoard 3 attests that the ship visited diverse ports, one of its last stops being in Egypt or, more likely, Cyprus.