While digging through hard earth and excavating an old castle, the people on site did not expect to find anything other than rubble. And that's why when they found 10 ancient Roman coins, their first reaction was that it was a hoax and that someone planted it there. Not only was it the first Roman coins discovered in Japan, but also a baffling mystery because as far as history goes, there was no trade relations between Asia and the Roman Empire.
The team of archeologists from Uruma City's Board of Education were on site, excavating Katsuren castle, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) world heritage site.
"I'd come to analyze artifacts like Japanese samurai armor that had been found there when I spotted the coins," researcher Toshio Tsukamoto told CNN. "I'd been on excavation sites in Egypt and Italy and had seen a lot of Roman coins before, so I recognized them immediately."
They brought the coins back to archeologist Hiroyuki Miyagi.
"At first I thought they were one-cent coins dropped by US soldiers," said Miyagi, as reported by ABC News. Miyagi originally thought that it was hoax because nowhere in history did it indicate the Japan had anything to do with the Roman Empire. But upon further examination using X-ray technology, it became increasingly clear that the bronze and copper coins were as real as can be and it originated in 300 to 400 A.D.
Katsuren castle rests on southern Okinawa. Other things that were discovered there included Japanese ceramics and Chinese coins, all of which can easily be explained by existing history.
"We don't think that there is a direct link between the Roman empire and Katsuren castle, but the discovery confirms how this region had trade relations with the rest of Asia," said spokesperson from Uruma City's Board of Education Masaki Yokou.
Ad baffling as the discovery was, archeologists are now scrambling to find anything that can shed light on how the coins ended in a faraway castle centuries ago, hoping to understand the story behind Katsuren castle.
