Issue No. 1947
27 Oct- 2 Nov 2022
COSTA BLANCA NORTH • EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
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ROMAN TREASURE: Gold coins discovered off Portitxol in Javea.
Valencian Institute of Conser vation, Restoration and Re search (IVCR+i) where they have been painstakingly re stored, removing traces of the sea creatures and polyps that had adhered to them over the centuries. The coins are due to return shortly to Javea where they will be on permanent display at the Soler Blasco Archaeo
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Linda Hall FREEDIVING enthusiasts Luis Lens and Cesar Gimeno found eight gold coins off Javea’s small Portitxol island in September 2021. As required by law, they in formed the Directorate Gener al of Cultural Heritage, whose experts were immediately aware of the value of the find. Alicante University archae ologists and divers from the Guardia Civil’s GEAS underwa ter operations unit took over and, with collaboration from Javea Town Hall, found anoth er 45 coins. These have now been iden tified as Roman solidus coins that were minted between the end of the fourth century AD and the beginning of the fifth. The archaeologists also dis covered nails, possibly copper, together with fragments of lead which they believe must have belonged to a coffer. All the finds were taken to the
Photo credit: IVCR+i
PURE GOLD!
logical and Ethnological Muse um (IVCR+i). “The museum has now in stalled a security measure to ensure the treasure’s safety, including a special display case equipped with antitheft sys tems and a CCTV camera,” municipal sources said.
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