A small ceramic jug discovered near the historic Kremlin in Kolomna, Russia, has turned out to be an extraordinary medieval treasure. Hidden inside were more than 2,600 silver coins, many of them rare and previously unknown to researchers.
The discovery is being described as the largest intact coin hoard from the first half of the 15th century found in Russia, offering archaeologists an unusually detailed look at money, wealth and trade in medieval Kolomna.
A small jug was hiding a huge medieval fortune
Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences discovered the ceramic jug during rescue excavations in the historic centre of Kolomna, around 114 kilometres southeast of Moscow.
The jug had been placed in a shallow pit near the city's historic Kremlin. It was described as a small, elegant, slip-painted ceramic vessel — an unassuming container that had remained underground for roughly six centuries.
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Inside, however, were more than 2,600 silver dengi, a common medieval Russian coin denomination. Researchers say the hoard provides an almost frozen-in-time picture of the money circulating in Kolomna during the early 15th century.
More than 350 coin varieties were previously unknown
The coins are especially valuable to historians because the hoard was found intact rather than as a scattered collection.
