50,000 coins dating back to 325 A.D. discovered on ocean floor
MEDITERRANEAN SEA, Italy (KFOR/Storyful) - Sunken treasure is often the topic of fictional books and movies, but an ancient treasure was just discovered in the Mediterranean Sea, near the Italian island of Sardinia.
A private diver spotted something metallic in the shallow waters near the island.
The diver went in for a closer look and found roughly 50,000 bronze coins, which were all produced between 324 A.D. and 340 A.D. across the Roman Empire.
A team of archaeologists, trained for underwater digs, removed the remaining coins.
Due to their shallow location, researchers believe the treasure was the result of a shipwreck.
The Italian Ministry of Culture is working to restore the coins and will eventually put them on display. Officials did not disclose their value.
A similar discovery was made in Seaton, England, where more than 22,000 bronze coins were found on dry land in 2013.
In that case, someone using a metal detector came across the Roman coins, which dated back to 260 A.D.