Submerged history
The Portitxol treasure: 53 Roman gold coins off Jávea
Not a local legend or a tourist hook. It happened in 2021, two recreational divers found it, and the coins are restored and on display in Xàbia.
11 August 2026
Two divers, Luis Lens and César Gimeno, were in the water off El Portitxol when they saw something glinting. They came out with eight gold coins. From that point they did not keep searching: they reported it, which is exactly what you should do, and the protocol of the regional heritage authority was triggered.
What came up afterwards
The subsequent excavation, with archaeologists from the University of Alicante and specialist Guardia Civil units, in collaboration with Xàbia town council, recovered 53 gold coins, three nails probably of copper, and deteriorated lead remains that may have belonged to a chest. It is one of the largest sets of Roman gold coins found in Spain and in Europe.
Why they were there
The coins date to the late 4th or early 5th century, and that date tells the story on its own. It is the moment the Suevi, Vandals and Alans arrive violently in Hispania and Roman rule in the peninsula genuinely ends, from 409 onwards. A chest of gold hidden or lost on the coast at that moment is not an anecdote: it is someone trying to save what they had.
If you ever come across something like this: do not touch it, do not lift it, and report it. The value of an archaeological find lies as much in where and how it was lying as in the object itself, and that is destroyed the moment it is moved. What the finders of the Portitxol treasure did is the reason it can be seen today.
Where to see them
The restoration was carried out by the Valencian institute for conservation and restoration, and the pieces are displayed at the Soler Blasco Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum in Xàbia. It combines well: a morning snorkelling around El Portitxol and a look round the museum to see what came up from below.