Yotam Dahan, a resident of the Western Galilee community of Klil, stumbled upon six kilograms (around 13 lbs.) of ancient coins lumped together while camping at Habonim Beach.
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Dahan gave the coins to the Israel Antiquities Authority after being contacted by archaeologist Karem Said in response to a post about his find on Facebook. The IAA presented Dahan with a certificate of appreciation for his act.
Dahan said he discovered the treasure some 70 meters (yards) from the shore, not far from where and his family had pitched their tent.
"I noticed something sparkling under the light of the flashlight behind our tent, and when I went to look, I was shocked to discover it was a lump of ancient coins," he said.
According to the initial assessment of Dr. Donald Zvi-Ariel, an expert in the field of numismatics, the coins appear to date back to the 4th century CE.
"Alongside the Habonim Beach shore, a site known in archaeology as Tel Nami, there are many declared archaeological sites – in the sea and on the shore - that bear witness to human activity in the region beginning gin the Neolithic period some 9,000 years ago," Jacob Sharvit, director of the IAA's Marine Archaeology Unit, said.
"Beginning with the Middle Bronze Age some 4,000 years ago, there is evidence of extensive marine activity at the site. The changing shoreline in the summer and winter seasons and changes in sea levels created a sort of 'marina' - a natural harbor at the site, and this served as a shelter for vessels that stopped to dock overnight or took refuge from a storm," according to Sharvit.
Archaeological evidence also points to ships and their cargo crashing into the shore.
According to Sharvit, "The large accumulation of coins, which were found together in one lump, and the remains of the cloth that remained on it point to them having been kept together in a sack, and as a result of oxidization of the metal in the marine environment, the coins became stuck together in one large clump, which largely took on the shape of the bag."
"Going by the large number of coins, it looks like they belonged to a ship and were to be used for trade purposes," the IAA said in a statement.
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