Rare insects, seals, pine trees and orchids. The small and uninhabited island of Gotska Sandön, in the Baltic Sea, does not have much to offer its visitors. Its nine kilometers long and six kilometers wide are mainly made up of sand, beaches, dunes and forests. Nothing else.
That is why the discovery made last March by archaeologists from the University of Södertörn on this islet that belongs to the Swedish province of Götland (although it is located halfway between Sweden and Estonia) and is protected with the national park status.
The researchers, who have been excavating the area since 2020, discovered two Roman denarii, silver coins from the time of Trajan (who was emperor between 98 and 117 AD) and Antoninus Pius (adopted son of Hadrian who ruled from 138 AD). to 161 AD).
Denarii were the standard currency of ancient Rome, and its name survives today in the Castilian word “money” or the Italian “denaro”. The pieces found in Sweden weigh less than four grams each and would have been about a day’s wages for a worker when minted.
“These are extremely exciting finds but they raise several questions,†explains professor of marine archeology Johan Rönnby in a statement. Do these items belong to the remains of a shipwreck scattered on the beach? Could they be associated with old hearths and chimneys scattered along the coast of Sandön? Are they linked to the hunters who hunted the seals for their oil?
All these questions, according to the experts, can begin to be resolved at the end of 2023, during the nine planned excavations. “Roman silver coin finds are not unusual in the province, but they are in Gotska Sandön. This find is interesting because of the mystery of its location,” adds Daniel Langhammer, an official at the Gotland County Administrative Board.
Gotska Sandön, which means “island of sand”, is currently uninhabited, but was once the home of lighthouse keepers in the 19th century. Before that, it was known as a shipwreck site because of the dangerous waters around it and as a favorite haunt for pirates.
Following this finding, archaeologists have searched the records and have found a report by lighthouse keeper Hjalmar Söderberg in which he stated that he had found a Roman coin on the island. This document, however, until now had always been viewed with some skepticism.
