A small cache of nine bronze coins from the Byzantine period about 1,400 years ago, the time in which the gemora was compiled, was found while digging in areas to be used for expanding Route 1 between Yerushalayim and Tel Aviv.
The digs, conducted last summer near the village of Ein Chemed, were next two a large building of two stories. A wine press was also found in the area.
The coins found
It appears that the coins were kept in a purse made of cloth, and hidden in a wall that later fell. The coins bear the likenesses of Byzantine rulers: Justinian (6th century), Maurice (582-602) and Phocas (602-610). The coins were struck in Constantinople, Antioch and Nichomedia.
The area of interest lies along the new highway that was recently opened. Archaeologists think that the settlement was called Ein Bikomkoba, whose name is preserved in the nearby Arab village called Beit Nekoba.
