Over fifty Venetian silver coins dating to the 14th century AD, have been found by archaeologists on the Aegean island of Naxos, revealed the culture ministry on Tuesday.
The 54 silver coins – known as grossi – were found on the coastal village next to a shattered clay jar containing additional coins hidden in a Renaissance-era style of a piggy bank.
They bear the likeness of at least three doges, the elected leaders of the Republic of Venice which was one of the maritime superpowers of the Renaissance period.
Archaeologists have identified doges Bartolomeo Gradenigo, Giovanni Soranzo and Andrea Dandolo, who successively ruled the republic from 1329 to 1354, the ministry said.
Naxos was among many Greek islands ruled by Venice from the 15th century to the early 18th century during a long struggle for supremacy in the eastern Mediterranean against the Ottoman Turks.
Source: Kathimerini
