A collection of 425 complete early Islamic gold coins were discovered near the central city of Yavne, Israeli archaeologists announced Monday.
The trove, which was unearthed by youth volunteers during recent salvage excavations, date to the Abbasid period around 1,100 years ago.
Robert Kool, a coin expert with the antiquities authority, said an initial analysis indicates the coins date from the late 9th century, considered the golden age of the Abbasid Caliphate that controlled most of the Near East and North Africa.
“Hopefully the study of the hoard will tell us more about a period of which we still know very little,” Kool said.