Ancient Coins from the Drew Institute of Archaeological Research Excavations of Caesarea Maritima, 1971-1984

Abstract

What do the nearly 2300 identifiable coins tell us about the history of Caesarea and its place in the changing economic world? Is there any numismatic data pertaining to Strato's Tower, the earliest settlement of the site? Coin counts begin to mount in the Seleucid period, but why do they abate almost completely during the Hasmonean monarchy? The surprisingly few international coins from Herod's time hardly reflect an booming entrepôt. Yet during the Byzantine era, Caesarea boasts the largest number of coins unearthed at any site in Palestine, a testimony to the significance of the harbor.