CARMEL COAST 1990 A

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Location

County

Region

Country

Israel

Lat/Long/Alt

32.8034 / 34.9547 / -48.24 view

Location details

Centred on field

Find spot comment

the shallow seabed off the southern municipal beach of Haifa (Map ref. NIG 1961/7543; OIG 1461/2543).

Information

7713

Permalink

https://chre.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/hoard/7713

Hoard name

CARMEL COAST 1990 A

Data type

Hoard

Date of discovery (from)

1990

Total number of coins

162

Summary

The hoard comprised 71 silver coins and 85 bronze coins from a Roman shipwreck.

Details
Coins Summary
Coins
Rating
Archaeological context
Containers
Objects
References
Reports
Images
Credit

Discovery method

Controlled archaeological investigation
Discovery depth (m)

2.5–4.0
Land Use

Marine
Disposition

Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA 43351-43439; 88595-88614; 95708-95759)
Finder(s)

Ehud Galili and Jacob Sharvit
Comment

One of two shipwreck hoards from the site. The other is from the fourth century AD (CHRE 7665). "The 38 Caesarea coins form the majority of the 74 local coins in the hoard. A look at the distribution of the remaining local coins betrays a pattern: the more distant the local mint from Caesarea, the fewer coins present in the assemblage. This would suggest that Caesarea was the port of origin or the intended destination of the ship" (Galili et al. 2010, 106).
Closing reign (earliest)

Severus Alexander
Terminal year (earliest)

222
Closing reign (latest)

Severus Alexander
Terminal year (latest)

235
Opening year (earliest)

14
Opening year (latest)

37
Coin-level data

Available to enter

Fetching coin data

Numismatic rating

Excellent
Rating comment

Coin level data available in Meshorer 2010.
Context rating

Excellent
Findspot rating

Excellent

Date of excavation (from)

1990
Date of excavation (to)

1998
Natural features

Sea
Site comment

"The wreckage site is located in a small, sandy bay created by an artificial tombolo located 150 m to the site’s north. Prior to the deposition of the tombolo, the shoreline had been sandy and straight, oriented on a roughly north–south axis. The sea bottom at the site slopes by a gentle 3% to the west. It is composed of hard fossil clay of a terrestrial origin. When lying substratum, this clay is usually covered with a layer of fine quartz sand up to 2 m thick. The artifacts were scattered over an area measuring 50 × 50 m and located 75–125 m offshore. They rested atop the clayey seabed at water depths of 2.5–4.0 m. Although the finds were scattered throughout the site, two major artifact concentrations were discerned, corresponding to the two coin hoards mentioned above. The third-century assemblage was mainly distributed in the western, deeper part of the site; while the fourth-century assemblage was concentrated in the eastern, shallower area of the site" (Galili et al. 2010, 61).
Recovery method

Excavation
Site class

Marine

Context

Shipwreck

References

Reference (string)

IAA R.21 "Carmel Coast II"

Reference

Galili, E., Dahari, U., and Sharvit, J. - 1993 - Underwater Surveys and Rescue Excavations Along the Israeli Coast

Ref

69-72

Reference

Galili, E. and Sharvit, Y. - 1999 - Haifa, Underwater Surveys

Ref

Reference

Galili, E., Rosen, B. and Sharvit, J. - 2010 - Artifact Assemblages From Two Roman Shipwrecks Off the Carmel Coast

Ref

61-110

Reference

Meshorer, Y. - 2010 - Coin Hoard from a Third-Century CE Shipwreck off the Carmel Coast

Ref

111-136

URI 1

URI 2

Comment

Galili et al. 2010, 61

J. Goldman (July 2016). Hoard data amended, following advice from D. Ariel (M. Spoerri, Jan. 2022). Updated by C. Gazdac (Jan. 2022). Coin-level data (denarii; Trajan-Aurelius) added by M. Ball (August 2022). Identification of provincial coins revised by M. Spoerri (Nov. 2022).

Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire

CARMEL COAST 1990 A

Data not added to the map

References

Coin Hoardsof the Roman Empire

CARMEL COAST 1990 A

Data not added to the map

References

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Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire