Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Coins found from both revolts against Rome.

NUMISMATICS: Bar-Ilan U. Archaeologist Discovers Two Rare Coins Dating Back to Jewish Revolts Against Rome (Jewish Press).
Coins bearing the inscriptions “Herut Zion” (Freedom for Zion) and “LeHerut Yerushalayim” (To the Freedom of Jerusalem) were recently discovered during an archeological survey conducted in Wadi er-Rashash in eastern Binyamin by the Institute of Archeology at Bar-Ilan University.

One coin, from the Great Revolt, was discovered on the ground at Hirbet Jib’it and the second, from the Bar-Kokhba Revolt, was found in a cave on the nearby Wadi er-Rashash cliffs about a kilometer north, according to Dr. Dvir Raviv, who heads the survey on behalf of the Bar-Ilan Institute.

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This discovery also relates indirectly to the upcoming commmemoration of the Ninth of Av (Tisha B'Av) (see the two preceding posts). According to tradition, the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans on the Ninth of Av and Bar Kokhba's stronghold Betar fell on the same date. The dates of these events may be approximate, but that is the tradition.

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