Dry Danube reveals hidden treasure trove of some 2,000 gold and silver coins

A treasure trove of some 2,000 gold and silver coins has been found on the Danube riverbed in Hungary thanks to an exceptionally low water level, archaeologists said Thursday. “Around 2,000 coins have been found, as well as arms, pikes, cannon balls and swords,” Katalin Kovacs, an archaeologist with the Ferenczy Museum Center, told the MTI agency. The discovery was made this week where the river passes by the town of Erd, to the south of Budapest. Archaeologists are working frantically, assisted by divers and drones, to extract what they can from the site before a rise in river levels expected this weekend. Like other rivers across Europe, the Danube is in some places at a historically low level after a long period of dry weather. In Budapest it is running at a mere 38cm (15 inches), which has affected shipping traffic. The treasure, which includes ducats and pennies,