Ottoman, European coins documented

MUĞLA - Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

Thousands of Ottoman coins and European silver coins, which were found in 2000 during works in the Beçin district of the Aegean province of Muğla’s Milas, are to be documented after 13 years.

During the excavation works carried out at the historic Beçin Castle under the direction of Professor Rahmi Hüseyin Ünal, a haul of treasures including some 60,000 Ottoman coins and 850 European silver coins was discovered. In the area, the state affairs were carried out in 16th and 17th centuries. It is estimated that the coins were stolen during the Celali revolt that took place in the beginning of 1600s and got lost in a fire. There are lots of Ottoman coins dating back to the reigns of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman, Selim II, Murad III and Mehmed III.

The treasure, which is thought to have remained underground during the fire, was cleaned in 2001 in collaboration with the Turkish Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Academy of Sciences. It was then kept in a museum. But due to lack of personnel, the inventory work began 13 years after the treasure was found. A commission was formed made up of experts from Milas, Samsun, Konya and Çankırı museum directorates. Now the experts are documenting the pieces in the treasure one by one and will value them.