First time finding ancient Roman coins in Japan

On September 28, Japanese archaeologists said they first found ancient Roman coins in the ancient castle ruins on the southern island of Okinawa.

According to archaeologists, 10 copper and bronze coins, in which the oldest coin dated around 300-400 AD, was found when excavating Katsuren castle was organized by the Catholic Church. Education, Science and Culture of the United Nations (UNESCO) recognized as a world heritage.

Two of the coins were found when unearthing Katsuren castle.

After an X-ray analysis, scientists found that some coins had embossed Roman letters and a picture of a person could be the First Emperor Constantine and a spearman.

These coins are the oldest dating back to about 300-400 AD Some other coins were dated to the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century.

The researchers were very surprised by the discovery, because this is the first time that Roman Empire coins were found in Japan, the country is located far away from where they can be cast thousands of kilometers.

Scientists are investigating how these coins appeared in a distant Okinawa island castle, built in the late 13th or early 14th century and abandoned about 200 years later. . This castle used to be the home of a wealthy lord in the area. However, this lord is known to have no trade relations with European merchants.