During maintenance work on old rainwater collection channels 33 unminted coins were found in the Columbretes Islands, according to La Razón. This unprecedented discovery could confirm the presence—or at least the passage—of pirates in the archipelago.
A worker from the natural reserve brigade, an expert in numismatics and archaeology, detected a greenish metallic fragment made of bronze that had been cut with shears. His experience allowed him to identify it as a piece related to coin production. He began collecting more fragments, including pieces of bars and metallic scraps, some millimeter-sized, and eventually found a cospell, a circular piece intended to mint a coin.
In total, about thirty pieces were found, all accumulated in the same area near the island’s cemetery. The news of the finding was communicated to the Museum of Fine Arts of Castellón, specifically to Arturo Oliver Foix, an expert in archaeology. The museum transferred the study to the University of Valencia (UV).
The Universitat de València (UV) corroborated that the unminted coins could belong to a counterfeiting workshop from the late 17th century, supporting the hypothesis of a counterfeiting site in the Columbretes Islands. The University verified that, although none of the pieces were minted, all were prepared to be minted.
According to Foix, “Everything points to a small counterfeiting workshop active in the 16th or 17th century.” The uncoined coins suggest illicit activities that could be linked to pirates or counterfeiters operating in the area during that time.
“The discovery reinforces the theory of the presence or passage of piracy on the island,” said Raúl Mérida, the Secretary of Environment and Territory of the Generalitat Valenciana, according to La Razón. Mérida emphasized that all the pieces were accumulated near the island’s cemetery, noting the importance of the location.
Historically, there was no evidence of human settlements in the Columbretes Islands until the 19th century, when the lighthouse was built. Lighthouse keepers and their families inhabited the island for more than a century in precarious conditions. The existence of the small cemetery on the island demonstrates their presence, as evidenced by the graves. The lighthouse keepers and their families abandoned the island in 1975, the same year the lighthouse was automated. Since then, the islands remained uninhabited until the installation of the first surveillance services established by the Generalitat Valenciana in 1987.
Work on the ancient channels was intended to collect rainwater to channel it to a cistern on a flat area next to the cemetery, at one of the ends of l’Illa Grossa. It was during this maintenance work that the archaeological discovery was made. The natural reserve brigade’s routine tasks have thus unveiled a hidden chapter in the islands’ history.
The Columbretes Islands, an archipelago of volcanic origin, are located near the coasts of Castellón, 28 miles from Cape Oropesa. “It is a small archipelago of volcanic origin halfway between the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands,” detailed Secretary Mérida. Due to their isolation and excellent state of conservation, the islands harbor several animal and plant species rare in the rest of the Mediterranean. The archipelago has a considerable number of species unique in the world, such as the Columbretes lizard and the Columbretes sea mustard.
The islands have been a natural park since January 25, 1988, and were mentioned in writings from ancient Greece. The discovery sheds new light on the history of the Columbretes Islands and suggests a previously unknown human presence associated with piracy or counterfeiting activities in the 16th or 17th century.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
