Archaeologists are puzzled but encouraged by the discovery of two silver coins dating back to the Roman Empire in a remote location.
It is unknown how the coins got there.One theory is that they were left behind by Scandinavian traders. It is also possible that they were lost in a shipwreck or brought here on a Roman ship that sailed far to the north.
Two silver coins found on the islandare Roman "denarii" - one dates from the reign of Emperor Trajan between 98 and 117 AD, and the other from the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius, between 138 and 161 AD ;e. Each weighs less than 4g and represents a worker's daily wages at the time they were minted.
Denarii were the standard coin in the AncientsRome, and their name survives to this day in the word "money" in several Latin languages, such as "denaro" in Italian and "dinero" in Spanish.
Coins of the Roman Empire could remainin circulation for a long time, because the silver they contained always remained valuable. They could have been delivered to Gotska Sandön (Swedish: Gotska Sandön) by Norwegian traders who took refuge there from sea storms. But it's also possible that they were brought here by shipwreck survivors: the waters around the island are known to be dangerous, and the area is littered with shipwrecks. Another possibility is that the coins were brought to the island by the Romans by ship, although no records exist of such a journey to the Baltic Sea.
The coin on the left represents a silverdenarius minted during the reign of Antonius Pius, from 138 to 161 AD. You can only see the emperor's head and some Latin letters. The coin on the right is a silver denarius minted during the reign of Trajan, from 98 to 117 AD. It shows the head of the emperor and part of the Latin inscription. Image courtesy of Johan Rennby
Gotska Sandön, or "Sand Island", isone of the most remote in the Baltic Sea. Roman coins have also been found on the larger island of Gotland, about 40 km to the south. It is located approximately 100 km from mainland Sweden. Gotland, with an area of 2,994 km², is the largest of Sweden's islands. Perhaps this was to be expected, since several cities were located on it. However, there are no towns or villages in Gotska Sandön.
Gotska Sandön, which means "Sand Island",uninhabited today, but in the 19th century lighthouse keepers lived here. Before this, it was known as a place of shipwrecks and a haven for pirates.
New finds echo the assertionsA 19th-century lighthouse keeper reports that he found a Roman coin on the island. But, according to scientists, the mystery of how the coins ended up here will never be solved.
Gotska Sandon, or "Sand Island", is one of the most remote islands in the Baltic Sea.
The coins were found on a plateau above the modern beach. Image courtesy of Johan Rennby
The remote island was also once visitedseal hunters—now hunting is prohibited. The scientists will return to the site later this year. They hope to eventually restore the history of the remote island.
Read more:
"Sea" of quarks inside one proton: what does an elementary particle consist of
Look at the highest resolution map of Mars: 110,000 frames and 5.7 trillion pixels
Scientists have studied an ultra-bright object that violates the law of physics
Cover photo: Gotska Sandön by Skistar
</ p>