The origins of ancient Greek coins found in Israel are clearer after a new study traced much of their silver to Athens and territories it once controlled. Researchers say many of the coins, long suspected of being local copies, were likely genuine Athenian currency carried east during a costly war more than 2,400 years ago.
The findings challenge earlier judgments based largely on how the coins looked rather than where their metal came from. The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, examined 22 coins from 10 controlled archaeological excavations in Israel.
Researchers compared lead isotope signatures in the metal with a database of about 7,000 ore samples from around the Mediterranean. Most older coins matched silver from mines at Lavrion, near Athens, or sources within the city’s sphere of influence. They belong to a wider group of 61 similar coins documented across 28 excavations in Israel.
The coins’ appearance had misled earlier researchers
The silver coins, called tetradrachms, feature the goddess Athena on one side and an owl on the other. Some coins from the Tel Mikhal hoard had been classified as imitations because the goddess’s face and other details differed from familiar Athenian designs. But the chemical evidence suggests those differences cannot reliably establish where a coin was minted.
Liesel Gentelli and her fellow researchers found “no substantive reason to doubt” that the main group consisted of genuine Athenian issues. Their findings do not mean local copies were absent. The study describes distinctive imitations minted in places including Ashkelon and Gaza, some bearing Semitic inscriptions.
Three of the older coins were silver-plated, a feature consistent with emergency minting during Athens’ growing financial troubles. The city had strained its resources fighting the Peloponnesian War, which ended in its defeat in 404 B.C. The costly campaigns required large payments, spreading Athenian money far beyond the city.
Origins of ancient Greek coins found in Israel point to wartime circulation
Researchers propose that major Athenian naval operations in the eastern Aegean helped carry these coins into western Asia. After Athens lost the war and access to silver sources, researchers argue, the older coin series was unlikely to continue. They place its last minting no later than 404 B.C.
Two later coins from Khirbet Qeiyafa produced a different result. Dated to the early 340s B.C., neither matched silver from Attica, the region surrounding Athens. That challenges the idea that these coins were restruck from older Athenian money. The researchers say the two examples are not enough to settle the issue.
The study also warns against dating archaeological layers solely by the coins found in them. Independent evidence from excavations, the researchers argue, is essential to avoid repeating mistaken assumptions about ancient coin production.
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