27 April 2009 | Archaeologists recently discovered a total of 4,300 medieval coins, dating to the second half of the twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth century, at the Tsarevi Kili site near the town of Strumica in eastern Macedonia.

The coins were located in two ceramic vessels and constitute one of the largest and most important medieval finds in the country so far, Zoran Ruyak, head of the ongoing archaeological excavations told the Utrinski vesnik newspaper.

From what is known so far, there are three types of coins forged during the rule of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, who reigned between 1143 and 1180, and subsequent emperors, Ruyak said.

On one side, the coins have an image of Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary, and on the other the emperor - either alone, in the company of another emperor or together with Jesus, who is blessing him, the head archaeologist explained.

Findings at Tsarevi Kuli archaeological site, since it began to be excavated, have included coins from different historical periods. The oldest of them dates back 350 years BC, from the time of Philip II of Macedon, which BalkanTravellers.com reported on recently. In addition, coins were found from the first century BC, the second half of the third century to end of the sixth century, from the tenth to the eleventh centuries, from the twelfth to the fifteenth century, as well as from more recent history, such as the First World War until the end of the Second World War.

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