Most of the coins used in the analysis were discovered between 2014 and 2022 by a Polish-Georgian team at the fort of Apsaros at Colchis, Piotr Jaworski, an archaeologist at the University of Warsaw who is a coin expert on the team, told Live Science in an email. The researchers found that a few of the coins were actually minted by Jewish rebels and that the Romans continued to use the currency. During the revolt, the Jewish rebels minted coins of their own that were inscribed with a variety of images, including pomegranates and chalices.For more on the Legio X Fretensis, see here and links. It was involved in the suppression of both the Great Revolt in 66-70 CE and the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132-135.The legion would have brought the coins to the site around A.D. 115, when the Roman emperor Trajan (who reigned from 98 to 117) launched an initially successful invasion of the Parthian Empire — an action that pushed the Roman Empire's borders deep into the Middle East. Historical records and archaeological remains indicate that Legio X Fretensis was used in this invasion and spent time in Colchis. The site was "a good logistical base for military operations in the region," Jaworski said.
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