#goldtreasure

Most of the treasure hoards we have covered elsewhere on this site (namely the Hoxne, Staffordshire, and Cuerdale Hoards, among others) come from the West. But we will now turn our attention toward the Levant, where, in February 2015, a vast hoard was found in the Holy Land. Much like the other treasure troves we have discussed on this site, the Caesarea gold treasure was uncovered not by professional treasure hunters, but by hobbyists simply doing their thing who hit the proverbial lottery.

In this case, the hobby in question was diving, adding an additional layer of wonder to the story: Not simply buried treasure, but underwater buried treasure. Indeed, this was the largest treasure ever discovered in the State of Israel. Found by the amateur divers at Caesarea National Park, they quickly referred their find to Antiquities Authority, who then sent a team out with the divers — and a set of metal detectors.