Egypt's Cultural Minister, Farouk Hosni, announced that a gold Umayyad coin was unearthed last Thursday during an excavation at Deir Yehnes el-Koseir (Monastery of St. John the Little), an area in Wadi el-Natrun. The excavation is a joint venture between Yale University in the USA and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, explained that the coin is very well preserved and both sides are decorated with kufi inscriptions. The first side of the coin bears the name of Allah and the second side is inscribed: “in the name of God the Merciful.” The edge of the coin is decorated with the year when it was minted.
The coin can be dated to the year 103 of Higra (721 AD) during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph, Yazid Ibn Abdel Malek Ibn Marawan.
Source: Dr Hawass
