Roman coin excavated on Okinawa

In 2013, archaeologists found several coins when working on the Katsuren Castle ruins in Okinawa. At first they thought they were American pennies from WW2. After sending the coins through several machines for analysis, they’ve discovered that 4 of them are from 4rd to 5th century Roman Empire.

Based on X-ray analysis, the coins appear to bear an image of Constantine I and a soldier holding a spear. This marks the first time a Roman coin is unearthed in Japan.

Along side the Roman coins, another coin is from 17th century Ottoman Turkey. The Roman coins probably made their way to Ryukyu the same time as the coin from Turkey. The Katsuren Castle was constructed in the 13th century and fell to disuse in the 15th century after it was sacked the Sho Kingdom.

Makes you wonder who put the coins there 200 years after the castle was abandoned.

See the last comment from “Dan JS”?

I prefer the theories that include Nazis, UFOs or time portals. :rofl:

That would make a lot of sense, and explains why the researchers instinctively thought the coins to be from the WW2 period, as it was probably found in that layer.