A rare gold treasure has been unearthed in central Israel by two teenagers who helped out at an archaeological excavation site during their summer break. During the dig, the youngsters stumbled upon a clay pot containing what they thought to be dry leaves, the Israeli Antiques Authority said. It turned out to be 425 meticulously preserved 24-carat gold coins that date back to the 9th century, a time where the area was under Islamic rule. One of the young men, Oz Cohen, who had volunteered at the excavation site before entering military service after the summer holidays, said: "It was amazing. I dug in the ground and when I excavated the soil, saw what looked like very thin leaves. When I looked again, I saw these were gold coins. It was really exciting to find such a special and ancient treasure."