Sponge-diver nets 216,000-euro reward
A fisherman who handed over to the authorities a record treasure trove of 30,000 Roman coins from an eastern Aegean shipwreck will receive a 216,000-euro reward, following a decision by the Ministry of Culture. In late July 2000, Christos Galouzis from the small Dodecanesian island of Kalymnos and his assistant, Stavros Michas, were diving for sponges off Astypalaia, the westernmost of the island complex, when they located a group of shipwrecks 47 meters deep. One contained the treasure – 182 kilos of, mainly small denomination copper coins. Culture Ministry experts evaluated the find at 432,000 euros and awarded Galouzis half that sum. The fisherman said he would share the reward with Michas. The coins, which date from the second and third centuries AD and were originally in a wooden chest, were probably destined for the payment of Roman soldiers.
