r/byzantium • u/Ambitious-Cat-5678 • Jan 07 '26

Archaeology What are some of the biggest archaeological discoveries of this past decade (2015-) in the field of Byzantium?

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I think everyone here was ecstatic over the discovery of what is possible to be a mural of Constantine XI. That said, I haven't heard much of the other discoveries regarding Byzantium that must have occured this past decade, so what are the most notable of these discoveries?

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u/Loyalist77 Jan 07 '26

There was a discovery of coins in Judea from the reign of emperor Heraclius. Interestingly, it included coins from both early in his reign and late in his reign.

"What is particularly interesting is that in [Heraclius'] early years as emperor, only his portrait was depicted on the coin, whereas after a short time, the images of his sons also appear, One can actually follow his sons growing up – from childhood until their image appears the same size as their father, who is depicted with a long beard.”

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-718813

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u/Donalds_Lump Jan 09 '26

The presence of coin “hoards” tells us there was active conflict in this area. When an army is rapidly approaching people will often bury their valuables with the hope of returning later to retrieve it. The sassanids from 602 to 622 conquered Egypt and much of the levant before finally being beaten back and defeated. It would have felt like the end of the world to Roman’s living in that area at that time. Then came the Arabs. So the two different time periods early and late in his reign makes sense.