Archaeologists from Varna unearth 1,500 years old coins

Coins, which are more than 1500 years old, were discovered by archaeologists from Varna in Devnya. The gold and bronze artifacts were found during excavations of part of the ancient city of Martianopolis. The coins are of late antiquity and are of very high value. This is the second coin that archeologists have encountered in the area of Devnya River, the first being from the time of Mark Anthony.

The site of the find is a residence from the ancient Roman city of Martianopolis, which in the fifth century is the capital of the province of Second Moesia. Here, archaeologists discovered 12 gold and 21 bronze coins.

Ivan Sutev, Director of the Mosaic Museum in the town of Devnya: This is, in our estimation, a large gold coin, dating from the end of the first half of the fifth century and associating it with the Huns invasions of the Balkan Peninsula, which is one of the most dramatic episodes from the northeast of the Roman Empire.

The city was then conquered by the Attila wars and destroyed during the reign of Emperor Theodosius II.

Dr. Hristo Kuzov, archaeologist: On several coins, he is depicted with his cousin Valennia the Third, who became emperor of the Western Empire. This find has been hidden away since it was buried in the ruins of an apartment building.

Ivan Sutev, Director of the Mosaic Museum in Devnya: The most interesting and rare of them is actually a coin depicting the wife of Emperor Evdokia, who, as is known at the end of her reign, goes to a monastery.

To ensure the security of the treasure, much of which is still underground, the municipality of Devnya will put up CCTV cameras and spotlights in the area. It is the second such valuable find, the first one dating from 1929 and one of the greatest treasures in the history of the world, consisting of 100,000 silver Roman coins.