A 1,000-year- old hoard of gold coins has been unearthed at a famous Crusader battleground where Christian and Muslim forces once fought for control of the Holy Land, Israeli archaeologists said yesterday.

The treasure was dug up from the ruins of a castle in Arsuf, a strategic stronghold during the religious conflict waged in the 12th and 13th centuries.

The 108 coins – one of the biggest collections of ancient coins discovered in Israel – were found hidden in a ceramic jug beneath a tile floor at the clifftop coastal ruins, 15km from Tel Aviv.

“It is a rare find,” said Oren Tal, a professor at Tel Aviv University who leads the dig. “We don’t have a lot of gold that had been circulated by the Crusaders.”...