Tuesday, 18th October 2005 (2910 views)

Farouq Hosni, Egypt's minister of culture, has announced that gold coins dating back over a thousand years have been found.

The rare coins are thought to have originated from the Fatimid era, 969-1171 AD.

The era saw a number of important achievements in Islamic architecture. A number of structures from the Fatimid period are still standing in modern-day Cairo, such as the Al Azhar and Al-Anwar mosques.

Mr Hosni said the gold coins were found during excavations at Ghebrial Al-Khashaba Monastery in Fayyoum by a Polish archaeological expedition.

Secretary-general of the supreme council of antiquities, Zahi Hawwas, said the coins have Islamic words on them written in both Arabic and Kufic.

He added that they are some of the best examples ever found of these kinds of coins.

 

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