14 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists unearthed a pot of copper coins in first major discovery at Mohenjo Daro in Pakistan, in 93 years

A pot full of copper coins was discovered from a stupa (a dome-shaped building erected as a Buddhist shrine) at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mohenjo Daro during conservation work in Pakistan’s Sindh province.

Mohenjo Daro, or “Mound of the Dead” is an ancient Indus Valley Civilization city that flourished between 2600 and 1900 BCE. The ruins of the huge city of Moenjodaro – built entirely of unbaked brick lie in the Indus Valley. The site was discovered in the 1920s.

The Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro are the best preserved urban settlement in South Asia. The acropolis, set on high embankments, the ramparts, and the lower town, which is laid out according to strict rules, provide evidence of an early system of town planning.

Experts evaluated the discovery of the pot filled with copper coins as the first significant artifact discovery in 5,000-year-old city ruins after 93 years.

Director of Archaeology Mohenjodaro, Dr Syed Shakir Shah, who led the team comprising archaeological conservator Ghulam Shabir Joyo, had confirmed that the staff busy with preservation work had stumbled upon the pot of coins on Wednesday.

Shah said laborers recovered the pot of coins during excavation but buried it again. Later some of them informed the officials of the archives department who then dug them out.

The team continued the work for three hours and safely secured the coins buried in the debris along with the jar wherein they were kept.

The pot of coins. Photo by Saeed Memon
The pot of coins. Photo by Saeed Memon

Officials said the jar of coins weighing about five and a half kilograms was later shifted to the soil testing laboratory at the site.

Sheikh Javed Sindhi, who was engaged in research at the site, said that previously, 4,348 copper coins were excavated by R.D. Banerji, Sir John Marshall, and Mackay from 1922 to 1931. These coins belonged to the Kushan Period dating back to the 2 to 5 Century AD, he said. “The present discovery is remarkable after 93 years and its credit goes to the Mohenjodaro team,” he said.

Shakir Shah told journalists later that most probably the coins belonged to the Kushan Period.

“Though we have shifted the coins to the laboratory [for the time being] we will definitely hire experts to confirm the period which could be revealed from the inscriptions on the coins. We have to look for which dynasties of the Kushan Period the coins belong to,” he said.

Rustam Bhutto, in-charge of the soil and water testing laboratory, said the treatment process for separating the amalgamated coins would take at least a month to make the figures and language on coins visible.

Ali Haidar Gadhi, senior conservationist at said that Mr Banerji discovered nearly 2,000 coins, 338 of which were of the period of Kushan ruler Vasudeva-1 with standing royal figure on obverse and Shiva on the reverse and the bulk comprising 1,823 un-inscribed cast copper coins. “Another nine had fire altar on the obverse and a crude figure on reverse,” he said.

Mohenjo Daro. Photo: Britannica
Mohenjo Daro. Photo: Britannica

“Although subsequent investigations suggest a break between the end of the Indus occupation and the Kushan phase, it is unlikely that the site was ever totally abandoned due to its high position and the protection it afforded against floods,” he said.

The Kushans existed from around the 1st century CE to the 3rd century CE and played a significant role in connecting various regions through trade, diplomacy, and cultural exchange.

The first Kushan ruler was Kujula Kadphises, who may be identified with the Yabgu of Guishuang named Qiu Jiuque in Hou Han shu. Numismatic evidence shows that Kujula Kadphises continued to imitate posthumous types of coinage of the last Indo-Greek ruler in central Afghanistan. Other copper coins issued by Kujula Kadphises copy the royal portrait on the obverse from gold coins of the Roman emperor Augustus (31 BCE – 14 CE). The image of the seated Roman emperor is transformed into a Kushan ruler, who is identified as Kujula Kadphises in Greek and Kharosthi legends. As the Kushans progressed further into northwestern India, Kujula Kadphises adopted the title “Great King, King of Kings” on coins patterned on those of Saka and Parthian rulers.

While evidence from coins and inscriptions at Rabatak and Surkh Kotal clearly shows that the Kushans maintained Iranian religious beliefs and practices, other inscriptions show that Kushan officials under Kaniska and his successors patronized Buddhists. The fire altar on previously discovered coins has Iranian influences.

Related Articles

Earliest Known East Anglian Gold Coin Found: A Fusion of Pagan and Christian Imagery

12 June 2025

12 June 2025

A rare gold coin dating back to the early Anglo-Saxon period has been discovered near Norwich, UK, by a metal...

Remains of painkillers were found in 4500-year-old vessels during excavations at Küllüoba Höyük in Turkey

20 September 2022

20 September 2022

In the excavations of the Early Bronze Age Küllüoba Höyük (Kulluoba Mound) in Eskişehir, where the first urbanization structure of...

In the 1,900-year-old underground temple of Mithras religion in Zerzevan Castle, an area where participants of secret rituals stayed was unearthed

23 July 2024

23 July 2024

Excavations at the  Zerzevan Castle in Diyarbakır province in the southeastern part of Türkiye have uncovered an area where participants...

1,400-year-old temple from the time of the East Anglian Kings discovered at Suffolk royal settlement

21 November 2023

21 November 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered a possibly pre-Christian temple from the time of the East Anglian Kings at Rendlesham, near Sutton Hoo...

Archaeologists say they have found the lost city of Natounia, belonging to the Parthian Empire

20 July 2022

20 July 2022

Researchers suggest they may have identified the lost Parthian city of Natounia in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. Although...

Study refutes previous assumptions, DNA evidence rewrites story of people buried in Pompeii eruption

8 November 2024

8 November 2024

Researchers from the University of Florence, Harvard University, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig analyzed the...

Rare Bronze Age Metalworking Hoard Discovered in Wiltshire, Including an Anvil

20 February 2025

20 February 2025

A remarkable discovery has been made in Urchfont, a village located in Wiltshire, England, where a Bronze Age hoard of...

Ancient tomb with prayer-related murals found in China’s Shanxi

25 December 2021

25 December 2021

Archaeologists in north China’s Shanxi Province have found an ancient tomb dating back to the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) with murals...

During roadwork in Oregon, a woolly mammoth tusk was discovered

21 June 2021

21 June 2021

A 12,000-year-old woolly mammoth tusk was discovered beneath the street by crews rerouting a gas line in Corvallis, Oregon. “Whenever...

The sword, thought to be a replica, turned out to be an authentic 3000-year-old Bronze Age sword

22 January 2023

22 January 2023

A sword in Chicago’s Field Museum that was previously thought to be a replica has been revealed to be an...

Archaeologists uncover Europe’s oldest lakeside stilt village behind a fortress of defensive spikes

11 August 2023

11 August 2023

Under the turquoise waters of Lake Ohrid, the “Pearl of the Balkans” Scientists have uncovered what may be one of...

Researchers reveal the 4,500-year-old network of funerary avenues in Arabian Peninsula

15 January 2022

15 January 2022

Archaeologists from the University of Western Australia (UWA) have determined that people living in ancient northwest Arabia built long-distance “funerary...

Excavations at Sheffield Castle Reveal the First Surviving Examples of 17th-Century Civil War Abatis

9 March 2025

9 March 2025

Excavations at Sheffield Castle, part of the Castlegate regeneration project by Sheffield City Council, have revealed the first known surviving...

2,700-year-old Unique Rock Tombs Disappear

18 July 2023

18 July 2023

The 2,700-year-old rock tombs, unique in Turkey, in the Taşköprü district of Kastamonu are in danger of extinction due to...

8000-year-old unique “fish-figure” small home tool found in Turkey

20 October 2021

20 October 2021

During this year’s excavations in the Yeşilova and Yassıtepe mounds in İzmir, a unique “fish-figure” small home tool was found....