Rare Trove of Coins Minted by Jewish Revolt Discovered in Jerusalem
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by JNS.org
Some of the bronze coins found near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Photo: Eilat Mazar, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
JNS.org – The Israeli Nature and Parks Authority announced that a team of archaeologists unearthed a trove of rare bronze coins dating from the last years of the Roman-Jewish War (66-73CE) in a cave near the south wall of the Temple Mount on Monday.
The discovery was part of the Ophel excavation operated by acclaimed Israeli archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and included dozens of bronze coins as well as numerous fragments of pottery vessels from the difficult four-year rebellion of the Jews of Israel against Roman rule known as the Great Revolt.
Mazar’s team believes the coins were left by hidden Jewish residents of Second Temple Jerusalem who sought refuge from the Roman siege in a cave that measures 7 by 14 meters.
The coins were dated to the period just prior to the destruction of the Second Temple, years 66-70 CE, with most of them dating to the revolt’s final year, or Year Four. Whereas coins in the earlier part of the revolt were decorated with Jewish symbols and bore the paleo-Hebrew words “For the Freedom of Zion,” the coins minted in Year Four, as the revolt began to break down, were etched with “For the Redemption of Zion.”
“A discovery like this, ancient coins bearing the words “Freedom” and “Redemption” found right before the Jewish Festival of Freedom, Passover begins is incredibly moving,” said Mazar in a statement.
According to Mazar, the cave was virtually untouched since the Second Temple period — a very unusual occurrence in archaeology — and also contains a Hasmonean Period layer beneath.
In February, the Ophel excavation garnered international attention for uncovering a 2,700-year-old seal which may have belonged to the biblical Prophet Isaiah.
Approximately 50 years ago, after the 1967 Six-Day War, Mazar’s grandfather, Professor Benjamin Mazar, discovered another hoard of Year Four coins at excavations near the Robinson’s Arch adjacent to the Western Wall.
