5 Sep 2017 Arab coin from Uherské Hradiště

The rare Arab coin from the eighth century and other objects from the Middle Ages were discovered four years ago by archaeologists in Uherské Hradiště when they were exploring the cellar of the former elementary art school. They also found a deformed gold bracelet.

The rescue archaeological excavation took place in a building on Mariánské náměstí. Specifically in the cellar, which was awaiting reconstruction. The research was reported by the Archaia Brno archaeological society and the Slovácké Museum.

During the research, the already mentioned Arabic coin from the eighth century was found. It is rare not only in terms of its historical value, but also because it was found in a house on one of the markets, on the former St. George's Island. It is most likely evidence that there was a marketplace where some foreign merchant probably stopped. Historians have found old reports of Arab traders in our region in various sources.
"Between the territory of the Pechenegs and that of the Slavs is a journey of 10 days. At the beginning of the borders of the Slavs there is a city called Wabnit, towards which you travel through a desolate and roadless territory, with water springs and dense forests, until you reach their territory. The land of the Slavs is flat and wooded, and they have their settlements in these forests... The city in which /the chief of chiefs/ resides is called Dj.r.wáb, and they have markets there three days a month, and they trade and sell in it...," writes, for example, Ibn Rusta, who lived at the end of the ninth century and wrote the treatise The Book of Rare Precious Things.
Experts subsequently discovered that it was a contemporary forgery of the gold dirham, which was an Arab coin. "It has a copper core and is covered with gold plate. It is therefore obvious that it is a fake. That probably didn't matter at the time, because it still got into circulation," archaeologist Jaroslav Bartík said at the time.

Other finds include a gold bracelet, fragments of bronze jewellery and other silver, copper and lead fragments from the eighth and ninth centuries, remnants of buckles, fittings and a decorated iron spur.

"Everything in the surveyed area demonstrates the presence of the upper social classes of the time. Colleagues have taken a number of samples, so we are looking forward to seeing what results they will subsequently present. Overall, the commission was perfectly prepared and we are very happy that we could visit Uherské Hradiště again after many years for an expert commission," Archaia Brno said at the time.

Sources: www.mesto-uh.cz, Archaia Brno, www.novinky.cz