A rare ancient coin dated to the time of the First Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire has been discovered in the Judean Desert.
Researchers found the silver "half-shekel" coin, which is around 2,000 years old, during a survey carried out in the desert by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The desert, which lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea, covers parts of the West Bank and Israel.
The coin was found in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, which is located in Israel on the western shore of the Dead Sea—during the Judean Desert Survey Project, the IAA said in a statement.
The project, which began about six years ago, aims to retrieve archaeological treasures in the region before they are found by antiquity looters.
During recent work, IAA inspectors came across the coin on the ground outside the entrance of a cave in the Ein Gedi area. The coin was minted in Jerusalem and is dated to A.D. 66/67, around the time of the First Jewish Revolt.
The revolt, which lasted between A.D. 66 and 70, was a Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in the ancient territory of Judea.
While the Romans suffered some military losses, they eventually managed to suppress the rebellion, which resulted in the deaths of many thousands of Jews, the fall of Jerusalem and the burning of the city's Second Temple.
One potential explanation behind the latest discovery is that the coin fell from the pocket of a rebel who escaped to the desert during the revolt, according to the IAA.
On one side of the coin, the phrase "The Holy Jerusalem" appears in ancient Hebrew script, alongside a depiction of three pomegranates.
On the other side of the coin, a chalice is depicted, above which lies the letter "Aleph"—marking the first year of the revolt's outbreak and the value of the half-shekel. Such coins were minted in denominations of half-shekel and shekel—a currency used in ancient Israel.
During the revolt, rebels minted their own silver and bronze coins depicting Jewish symbols without the image of the ruling Roman emperor. This was an act of defiance and an attempt to create a form of internal economy among the Jewish rebels.
A rare half-shekel silver coin from Year One of the First Jewish Revolt against the Romans, was discovered in the Judean Desert>>On the coin “Holy Jerusalem” appears in ancient Hebrew * The coin...
Coins from the first year of the revolt, such as the latest discovery, are rare, according to experts.
"The find of the silver half-shekel during controlled archaeological activity is a rare event in Israel, and in the Judean Desert in particular," Amir Ganor, a director of the Judean Desert Survey Project, said in the statement. "This find emphasizes the importance of the controlled professional survey of the entire Judean Desert."
Ganor continued: "Every new find contributes to the history of the people and the country. Were it not for the survey, the coin may have been found by antiquity looters and sold on the antiquity market for the highest price offered. Over the six years of the project, we have recorded over 800 caves and have found thousands of significant finds."
IAA Director Eli Escusido said the coin's discovery is firsthand evidence of a "turbulent" period in Jewish history.
Newsweek has contacted the IAA for comment via email.
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