Coins Dating Back To Revolt Against Romans Found Outside Jerusalem
Image by Getty Images
A ceramic money box holding a rare hoard of coins from the Great Revolt against the Romans was discovered outside Jerusalem.
The 114 bronze coins date back to the fourth year of the Great Revolt against the Romans, which led to the destruction of the Second Temple, 2,000 years ago this week. The discovery was made several months ago but announced on Tuesday.
The coins were discovered during the expansion of Route 1, the highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, in a previously unknown settlement from the late Second Temple period.
“The hoard, which appears to have been buried several months prior to the fall of Jerusalem, provides us with a glimpse into the lives of Jews living on the outskirts of Jerusalem at the end of the rebellion,” Pablo Betzer and Eyal Marco, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a statement. “Evidently someone here feared the end was approaching and hid his property, perhaps in the hope of collecting it later when calm was restored to the region.”
The hoard was concealed in the corner of a room, perhaps inside a wall niche or buried in the floor. Two other rooms and a courtyard belonging to the same building were exposed during the course of the archaeological excavation. The structure was built in the first century BCE.
The Israel Antiquities Authority and the National Transport Infrastructure Company are examining the possibility of preserving the village remains within the framework of the landscape development alongside the highway.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
