Ancient coins' murky ocean grave revealed in video

Video has emerged of a load of ancient gold coins, dating back to the eleventh century, being plucked from their watery grave off the coast of Israel.

The nine-kilogram haul of coins, numbering nearly 2000, was discovered completely by chance by members of a diving club in the Roman-era harbour city of Caesarea two weeks ago, The Guardian reports.

"At first they thought they had spotted a toy coin from a game and it was only after they understood the coin was the real thing that they collected several coins and quickly returned to the shore in order to inform the director of the dive club about their find," the Israel Antiquities Authority said while unveiling the coins on Wednesday.

The coins are believed to be from the era of the Fatimid Caliphate, which ruled much of the Middle East and North Africa from 909 to 1171.

Israel Antiquities Authority spokeswoman Yoli Schwartz refused to say how much the coins were worth.

"(The find is) so valuable it's priceless," Ms Schwartz said.

The divers who uncovered the coins would not get a finder's fee, she added, saying the haul was now the property of the Israeli government.

Source: The Guardian