A rare Second Temple silver coin belonging to the second year of the Great Jewish Revolt (AD 67-68) against the Romans was found by volunteers sifting soil filtration from an archaeological dig organized by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the City of David National Park. The Second Temple coin was found by 11-year-old Liel Krutokop while she was sifting through a bucket of City of David soil, and the discovery deeply moved her.
The better-preserved obverse and obverse of the Second Temple coin, engraved with a cup and the legend “Israel shekel,” was found by a female volunteer at the City of David National Park. (Eliyahu Yanai / City of David)
Inscription on coin from second temple Date of discovery
Inscriptions on the coin lead experts to believe that it was minted at the site of the Second Temple on Mount Plaza itself, by a priest sympathetic to the rebel cause, perhaps even supporting help them. This makes it an extremely special find, one of the few remains to come directly from the Temple.
As Dr. Robert Kool, head of the Coin Section at the IAA, points out: “This is a rare find, as of the thousands of coins discovered to date in archaeological excavations, only There are about 30 coins made of silver from the period of the Great Uprising.”
Between 66 and 73 AD, caused by religious tensions between Jews and Romans, the Jews of Judea rebelled against Roman Emperor Nero. The revolt continued to include Jewish dissatisfaction with taxes imposed by the Romans and resulted in the destruction of Jewish towns, the displacement of their people, and the appropriation of land to used by the Roman army, as well as the destruction of the Jews. Temples and politics.
The other side of the Second Temple silver coin bears the High Priest’s seat and the words “Holy Jerusalem.” (Yaniv Berman/City of David)
The second temple coin is silver and has inscriptions on it
Made from 14 grams (0.49 ounces) of pure silver, the coin is engraved with an image of a cup and the words “Jewish Shekel” and “second year” on one side, referring to the second year of the revolt, i.e. 67-68 ADVERTISING. On the other hand, it has another inscription reading “Holy Jerusalem” in ancient Hebrew, as well as another word that experts say refers to the high priestly seat in the Temple.
According to Kool, as quoted in the Times of Israel, such a heavy silver coin could only have been minted at the Temple because, “In those days, where could you find silver in such quantity and quality?” So? Only available at the Temple.
If so, we might be cautious in saying that this coin is clearly one of the only items we hold today that originates from the Temple [Mount] itself.” Kool said not many people know that the temple has a large silver reserve.
But an inscription at the Colosseum in Rome, which was recently rebuilt, says that the great amphitheater was built with loot looted from the Temple: “Emperor Vespasian [who with with his son Titus suppressed the Jewish Revolt and destroyed the Temple.” ] ordered the construction of this new amphitheater [the Colosseum] from his share of the spoils.”
“One can only imagine the level of looting and the amount of money the Romans found in the Temple treasuries,” said Dr. Amit Reem, the IAA’s Jerusalem district archaeologist.
Model of Jerusalem’s Second Temple, Israel Museum, Jerusalem. (Berthold Werner / Public Domain)
Why were second temple coins minted?
On the surface, the coin certainly serves the purpose that all currencies do: transactions. The road where it was found, “connecting the Lake of Shiloah in the south of the City of David with the Temple Mount in the north, was the main road of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, where thousands of pilgrims marched on their way to Temple. .
Surely there would have been extensive trade on the road leading to the Temple. This is proven by the many weights and copper coins we found here. But finding a rebel coin made of pure silver is certainly very special and interesting,” said IAA archaeologist Ari Levy, who led the excavation.
However, there is a deeper psychology behind minting coins. According to Kool, coins were minted during the uprisings as symbols of sovereignty and independence. They expressed the wishes of the rebels.
The use of the ancient Hebrew script, which is no longer in use, also shows the rebels’ desire for Jewish independence from Roman control. “The use of this script is intended to express the people’s longing during this period for the days of David and Solomon and the days of a unified Jewish kingdom – days when the people of Israel had independence. completely established on land.”
There is probably a reason this coin and perhaps other similar coins were made from 14 grams (0.49 ounces) of pure silver. Whether it was made to declare the wealth and power of the rebel mints, or whether it had pure metal value to allow it to compete with legal tender, remains to be seen.
