Ancient Roman coins unearthed at Japan castle

AFP ^ | 28 September 2016 | AFP

[Theoria]

Japanese archaeologists said Wednesday they have for the first time unearthed ancient Roman coins at the ruins of an old castle.

The discovery of 10 bronze and copper coins -- the oldest dating from about 300-400 AD -- in southern Okinawa caught researchers by surprise.

It was the first time Roman Empire coins have been discovered in Japan, thousands of kilometres from where they were likely minted.

"At first I thought they were one cent coins dropped by US soldiers," archaeologist Hiroki Miyagi told AFP.

"But after washing them in water I realised they were much older. I was really shocked."

The sub-tropical island chain hosts a cluster of US military bases and thousands of troops.

A team of researchers have been excavating Katsuren castle, which is a UNESCO world heritage site, since 2013.

An X-ray analysis of the dime-sized coins showed some were embossed with Roman letters and possibly the image of Emperor Constantine I and a soldier holding a spear.

Several others dated from a later period -- the 17th century Ottoman empire.

Researchers were left scratching their heads about how the coins ended up at the castle in faraway Okinawa, which was built sometime in late 13th or early 14th century and abandoned about 200 years later.

It was once the residence of a feudal lord, whose wealth was linked to regional trade but he was not known to have had business ties with Europe.

"East Asian merchants in the 14 and 15th centuries mainly used Chinese currency, a round coin with a square hole in the middle, so it is unlikely that the Western coins were used as a means of currency," said Miyagi, who also teaches at Okinawa International University.

[bigdaddy45]

Thanks for my first good laugh of the day..... :)

[Godebert]

From the article: "X-ray analysis confirmed the find. On one side, they bear the likeness of Roman emperor Constantine the Great, who died in 372; on the other, a spear-bearing soldier."

Constantine the Great died in 337 A.D. They were only off by 35 years.

[hanamizu]

Some emperors were really diabolical about it. The mints would issue silver covered bronzes (fourée) that had to be accepted, but refused them when taxes were due. Cutting the percentage of silver in the coin was also a common trick. (Oddly, the gold coins used to pay soldiers retained their purity). The later coins, like we’re discussing weren’t really meant to deceive, everyone knew by that time that they were dealing with fiat currency.

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from 9/28/2016. Thanks Theoria.

• Roman coins discovered in ruins of Japanese castle [09/28/2016 11:56:53 AM PDT]
• Roman coins ID'd in Japanese ruins, but their origin baffles [10/18/2016 7:08:04 PM PDT]

[Red Badger]

There was a Roman era galley found in mud in a river in Vietnam IIRC.......................

[SunkenCiv]

This wouldn’t come as a surprise to me — in the Han Court records, a trade mission from the Roman Empire was found, even naming the correct emperor (Marcus Aurelius, transliterated). And the Chinese sent a trade mission during the early years of Hadrian’s reign (the catamite-loving pajama boy Hadrian had already abandoned Mesopotamia) which missed.

Remains of a Roman ship in Vietnam, that sounds familiar, but I turned up nothing about that in particular.

https://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/art-entertainment/114502/10-ancient-ships-found-in-binh-chau-waters—archaeologists.html
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2014/10/ten-shipwrecks-found-in-vietnam-waters.html

[<1/1,000,000th%]

The Romans traded ambassadors with China so its not a stretch that their coins made it to Japan.

[Godebert]

The Roman coins were minted in the 4th century and the Japanese castle was built in the 14th century. The Roman coins were already 1,000 years old when they were deposited at the site.

[SunkenCiv]

Romans in Okinawa - Japan? | Dr Raoul McLaughlin