Archaeologists have uncovered two gold coins and a ring dating back around 1,400 years at the Hyrcania site in the Judean desert, southeast of Jerusalem. The coins, bearing crosses and the image of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, were found at a monastery established in the fifth century by Christian monks. The Hyrcania site has a rich history, originally built as a fortress by Hasmonean rulers, later rebuilt by Herod the Great, and eventually becoming a center for Christian monastic life before its abandonment in the early medieval period. The discovery sheds light on the Byzantine era and the early Christian presence in the region, according to the archaeologists leading the excavation.