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Archaeological Finds Revise Timeline of Silver Currency
A team of researchers from Haifa University and the Hebrew University has discovered that silver currency was used in the Levant more than 3,600 years ago. The treasures found during excavations in Israel and the Gaza Strip were analyzed by researchers.
Scientists argue that the first silver coins that were in circulation may have come from ancient Greece or Anatolia.
Silver may have been used as currency up to 500 years earlier than suspected
Ancient currency was based on natural resources and precious stones. Money was a form of commercial exchange. In Neolithic times, anything of value was paid for. Among others, grain, vegetables, animals or other goods. However, until now it was thought that the first coins in history were probably created around 1000 BC and were used by Anatolian peoples.
The authors of the latest study suggest that the ancient currency may have been used as much as 500 years earlier. The researchers analyzed 28 pieces of silver found at Bronze Age archaeological sites. All the treasures were found in the Levant states.
