Recent excavations led by the University of Michigan have uncovered a hoard of Persian gold coins deposited in a small ceramic pot at a large courtyard house in the centre of the city. 

The city of Notion, founded on the west coast of Anatolia in the Gulf of Kuşadası, now modern-day Turkey, served as a main port for pilgrims travelling to nearby Claros to visit the oracle of Apollo.

In the mid sixth century BC, the city was conquered by the Persian Empire but was liberated in the Greco-Persian Wars. 

The archaeological site of Notion is a well-preserved, almost completely un-excavated city which covers an area of approximately 35 hectares, enclosed by 1.8-mile-long fortifications.  Most of the surviving remains of the city date from the third to first century BC during the Hellenistic period, including city walls, necropolis, the Temple of Athena, an agora and a theatre.

Most of the discovered coins are known as darics - issued by the Persian Empire - which were likely minted in the fifth century BC at Sardis, the capital of the Persian province of Lydia. 

Anatolia is the birthplace of the Western world’s first state-issued coin - the stater - which was created by seafaring people called Lydians, made from electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver. 

According to the archaeologists, the coins depict a keeling archer, a typical characteristic design of the Persian daric, likely intended to be used as payment for mercenary troops. The back of the coins are blank, except for a punch mark.

An archaeologist from the University of Oxford, Andrew Meadows, while not involved in the project, said that this discovery is one of “the highest importance”.

“The discovery of such a valuable find in a controlled archaeological excavation is very rare,” said Christopher Ratté from the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology and director of the Notion Archaeological Project. He added that the coins had been buried in the corner of an older building and that they were not “actually looking for a pot of gold”. 

“This hoard will provide a firm date that can serve as an anchor to help fix the chronology of the [entire sequence of coins], he added. Having analysed the stylistic differences of the coins, they have been arranged in chronological order. This also has played an important role in independently dating other objects associated with the hoard. 

The fact that the loot was never reclaimed has led Ratté to believe that a disaster occured. 

“No one ever buries a hoard of coins, especially precious metal coins, without intending to retrieve it,” he said. “So only the gravest misfortune can explain the preservation of such a treasure.”