The coins, dating from the late 940s to the 970s CE, are found to be in excellent condition. This is the first time in 50 years that a gold cache from the Fatimid period has been discovered in Jerusalem's Old City.
Archaeologists are confident that church replaced open-air temple that was dedicated to the god Pan.
Researchers: Greek reference to Kfar Nefach bucks general belief that names are preserved in places that have been continuously populated for generations.
“We have the chance to explore the citadel from the perspective of modern archeologists" using advanced technology to render 3D images of the remains from each time period, archaeologist says.
Archaeologists also find a number of colorful, gilded wooden statues at rich ancient site.
The skeleton of the Allosaurus dinosaur, dug up in Wyoming three years ago, went to an unnamed foreign buyer.
Weight dating back 2,700 years was used by men and women in ancient Jerusalem before the advent of silver coinage.
The furnace used to process copper purchased from present-day Jordan may have been a local invention, but even if the technology was imported, Beersheba played an "important role in the global metal revolution," says Professor Erez Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv University.
Many contain intact mummies, and researchers have also found statuettes honoring Egyptian gods and goddesses. "I consider this the beginning of a big discovery," says Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khalid el-Anany.
Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Weizmann Institute, and the Israel Antiquities Authority find that ancient storage vessels manufactured in the Land of Israel all feature openings of the exact same width.