Ancient mosaics of Lod

An ancient mosaic that once belonged to a Roman villa in the city of Lod was discovered in 2018 by archaeological excavations at the site. The mosaic-decorated reception and courtyard, as well as a water system were found as the Israel Antiquities Authority dug in preparation for the construction of a visitors’ center in Lod.

A 1,700-year-old mosaic discovered in Lod, Israel, was revealed to the public for the first time in November, 2015. Measuring 36 by 42 feet, the impressive artwork depicts scenes from nature. It was found near another mosiac found two decades ago in the same area.

The Bactrian Treasure - Hill of Gold - Tillya Tepe

The Bactrian Treasure is a massive gold hoard that lay under the 'Hill of Gold' in Afghanistan, known as Bactria when Alexander the Great conquered the country 2100 years ago.

The hoard is a spectacular collection of about 20,600 gold ornaments found in six burial mounds just beyond the oasis town of Sheberghan in northern Afghanistan. This is the treasure of Tillya Tepe, the Hill of Gold. The treasure lay undisturbed until Soviet researchers exposed it shortly before the 1979 invasion.

Soon after the discovery, a guerrilla war against the Soviet occupation began, followed by civil war. During those years the treasure was kept in the Kabul Museum, which has since been looted. The day before the Russians fled Kabul in February 1989, the treasure was moved to the presidential compound, the safest place in the capital.

Gold stater of Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides, 169gm, the largest gold coin of antiquity.

The treasure remained safe due to the efforts of one man: Mr. Ameruddin Askarzai, a security guard of the central bank who has been guardian of the vaults for 30 years. He is one of the few people in history to have seen the entire collection of gold objects. "It's the best heritage of our country," he said. Askerzai helped to seal the treasure in seven trunks and guarded it along with the assets of the central bank - gold bars the "size of your arm" worth about £50 million - also kept in the presidential palace. The real threat to the treasure came when the Taliban captured Kabul in 1996. A delegation of 10 mullahs arrived with a jeweller to inspect the vaults. A pistol held against his head, he opened the combination lock so they could inspect the gold bars. They had found the second prize, but did not realize the real treasure was in a vault above their heads. The Taliban asked if there was any other gold, but Mr Askerzai remained silent. He was imprisoned for three months and 17 days, during which he was beaten and tortured, but he did not reveal anything. "I wasn't scared," he said. "I didn't care for my life. They were foreigners. They were not Afghans." On the Taliban's last night in power, as coalition forces pounded the country with bombs, the Taliban stuffed the central bank's cash reserves into tin trunks and arrived at the vault for the gold bars. They spent four hours trying to open the vault. Mr Askerzai watched. Unknown to them, five years earlier he had broken the key and left it in the lock. The Taliban gave up and fled Kabul as Northern Alliance forces edged closer. That saved the treasure.In 2003 the vault was opened. Since then, the National Geographic Society has catalogued the collection, which appears to be complete. Also witnessing the re-opening was the archaeologist who originally found the hoard, Viktor Sarianidi.

Decline of Roman coinage

The decline of Roman coinage was driven by currency debasement, where emperors progressively reduced the precious metal content in coins. This brought severe inflation and the erosion of trust. People recognized the lower intrinsic value of the coin, and this weakened the entire Roman economic order. The debasement of coinage was a significant contributor to Rome's decline and fall.

A pre-reform denarius of Nero, about 98% pure silver.

For the first 90 years of the Roman Empire the purity of Rome’s silver coinage was 98% or higher. That standard was kept by emperors Augustus, Tiberius (14-37), Caligula (37-41) and Claudius (41-54), and the first decade of Nero's reign (54-68). The Great Fire of Rome in 64 marked the start of a debasement that would eventually bring Rome’s silver coinage to unfathomable depths.

Post-reform denarius of Nero, about 93% silver

Nero took the easy path to raising cash – re-coining old money. Nero reduced the weight of the silver denarius from 1/84th of a Roman pound to 1/96th, lowering its silver content from 98% to 93%. At the same time the reduced weight of the denarius, 12.5%, further reduced silver content. Nero reduced the weight of his aurei from 7.8 grams to 7.3 grams of gold.

Nero's reformed coinage was created by recycling older, purer silver, with Republican denarii targeted for reminting.

Nero was overthrown in 68 giving rise to the Year of Four Emperors in 69. Vespasian (69-79), reduced the purity of the denarius to about 90%.

In 107 Trajan (98-117) reduced the purity of the denarius to 88%. From there the purity slid until 148, when Antoninus Pius (138-161) removed 5%. The denarius was now about 84% or 83% pure. The denarius reached about 71% purity near the end of the reign of Commodus (177-192)

Under Septimius Severus (193-211) the purity of the denarius dropped to about 57%. Over the next four decades, the purity of imperial silver coinage continued to slide, dropping steadily until it had reached about 41% purity under Trajan Decius (249-251). Under Trebonianus Gallus (251-253) and Aemilian (253), it sank to about 35% pure. By 268, the double-denarius had slid to a silver content of 5% or less – in some cases dropping to about 2.5%. The "silver" coin was effectively copper with a thin, easily worn-off plating.

Aurei of Domitian

Domitian's rule spanned his time as Caesar (69–81 AD) and as Emperor (81–96 AD). His coinage varies significantly depending on the period it was struck. Early aurei often depict a young Domitian and were used to secure the legitimacy of the Flavian dynasty. After becoming Emperor, coins minted during his reign often celebrated his titles (Germanicus) and divine patrons like Jupiter.

The Julio-Claudian dynasty that Augustus founded in 27 BCE lasted until 68 CE when Nero was overthrown. After a civil war (68-69), a new dynasty took the imperial throne. It was founded by general Vespasian, the conqueror of Judaea. He would rule from 69 to 79, after which he was succeeded by his sons Titus (79-81) and Domitian (81-96).

This aureus was struck at the mint in Rome in 79 CE under Vespasian but features Domitian on the obverse as his “Caesar”. It is graded VF+/EF. It weighs 7.44 grams. $18,237 USD.

Roman silver mining

To mint silver coins, the Romans needed vast amounts of silver. Much of it originated from the Iberian Peninsula. Roman silver mining in Hispania was the economic engine of the Roman Republic and early Empire. The largest operations were in Rio Tinto and Cartagena.

Extraction of galena (lead-silver ore) in Hispania involved massive metallurgical operations that were the primarily supplier of the silver coinage and lead of the Roman Empire. The extracted argentiferous galena (a lead sulfide mineral, PbS) was first crushed and smelted in furnaces.

By roasting the ore with charcoal, the sulfur was burned off as sulfur dioxide, reducing the lead sulfide into metallic lead. Any silver (Ag) present in the ore dissolved into the newly formed liquid lead.

To separate the silver from the base lead, cupellation was used. The lead bullion was placed on a porous hearth and reheated under a forced blast of air from bellows. The lead oxidized into molten litharge (lead oxide) and was absorbed by the porous hearth, while the silver remained unoxidized. This allowed artisans to extract silver purities that often reached over 95%. The silver content in galena deposits was typically low (0.1% to 0.5%), so ancient miners had to extract and process huge amounts of lead ore to collect silver. The process vaporized vast amounts of lead. The environmental and occupational hazards were severe.

Romans smelting lead-silver ores released large amounts of lead dust into the atmosphere. Global pollution fallout was preserved for millennia in Greenland ice. Lead emissions in the ice precisely mirror the flow and ebb of Roman historical events. When access to new silver was cut off, lead levels decreased as Romans turned to recycling old silver.

The industry required a steady supply of tens of thousands of slaves. Underground mines utilized Roman engineering marvels like wooden water-wheels and screw pumps to battle the water table. An example from the Rio Tinto mines in Spain was one from 16 pairs used to draw water from up to 80m deep.