Mon Prof Augmenté
Coins that date a statue
Age 11 · History
Archaeologists can find out how old an object is by looking at the coins buried right next to it in the same layer of soil. Coins often show who made them and when, so anything lying beside them is probably from about the same time.
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Age 11: open this week
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In the picture
- Coins with an eagle: their date tells us the age of the layer
- God figurine: lies in the same layer as the coins, so it is about as old
- Old jar in the layer below: older than the figurine
- Glazed shards in the layer above: newer than the figurine
Examples
- A bus ticket found inside a coat pocket tells you roughly when the coat was last worn.
- A newspaper lying under an old carpet shows when the carpet was put down.
Key takeaways
- Objects in the same layer were usually buried at about the same time.
- Deeper layers are usually older, and higher layers are usually newer.
Quiz: Coins that date a statue (Age 11)
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An archaeologist finds a bracelet in the same layer of soil as some coins whose date is known. What is the best guess about the bracelet?
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A pot is found in a layer of soil deeper than the layer with the coins. What is most likely true about the pot?
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Why are coins so useful for working out how old a layer of soil is?
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