Image Gallery: Ancient Treasure Trove Revealed

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Uncovering a Treasure

A treasure trove of gold and silver coins along with gold jewelry was uncovered in Israel and dates back to the Roman Empire.

(Image credit: Sharon Gal, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)

Archaeologists uncovered about 140 gold and silver coins along with gold jewelry in a pit in the courtyard of an exposed building dating to the Roman and Byzantine period.

Wealthy Stash

A treasure trove of gold and silver coins along with gold jewelry was uncovered in Israel and dates back to the Roman Empire.

(Image credit: Sharon Gal, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)

A wealthy woman likely stashed the hoard of coins and jewelry in the pit due to the impending danger of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the researchers suggest.

Dazzling Earring

A treasure trove of gold and silver coins along with gold jewelry was uncovered in Israel and dates back to the Roman Empire.

(Image credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)

Among the treasures, the scientists found a gold earring crafted in the shape of a flower.

Dainty Jewelry

A treasure trove of gold and silver coins along with gold jewelry was uncovered in Israel and dates back to the Roman Empire.

(Image credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)

The gold earring.

Winged Goddess

A treasure trove of gold and silver coins along with gold jewelry was uncovered in Israel and dates back to the Roman Empire.

(Image credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)

Among the treasure is a ring holding a precious stone that is covered with a seal of a winged goddess.

The Cache

A treasure trove of gold and silver coins along with gold jewelry was uncovered in Israel and dates back to the Roman Empire.

(Image credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)

"This is probably an emergency cache that was concealed at the time of impending danger by a wealthy woman who wrapped her jewelry and money in a cloth and hid them deep in the ground prior to or during the Bar Kokhba Revolt," said archaeologist Sa'ar Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority. "It is now clear that the owner of the hoard never returned to claim it."

Golden Jewel

A treasure trove of gold and silver coins along with gold jewelry was uncovered in Israel and dates back to the Roman Empire.

(Image credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.)

A close-up of the winged-goddess ring.

Jeanna Bryner
Managing editor, Scientific American

Jeanna Bryner is managing editor of Scientific American. Previously she was editor in chief of Live Science and, prior to that, an editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Bryner has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species, including the gorgeous Florida Scrub Jay. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a firm believer that science is for everyone and that just about everything can be viewed through the lens of science.