Several months ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority inspector discovered fragments of pottery during the course of the construction of Highway 1. Since then, the Authority has initiated extensive excavations in the area in which a settlement from the end of the Second Temple era was discovered.
On the fast of Tisha B'Av (2014), in the midst of the work, a rare treasure from the beginning of the millennium was discovered. This was an important archaeological and historical find, discovered in one of the houses of the settlement.
The cache contained 114 bronze coins, which were hidden in the corner of the room. Investigators believe that it was concealed in a niche in the wall, floor or even immersed in a treasure chest.
According to the date comparison, the coins matched the fourth year of the Great Revolt against the Romans, which led to the destruction of the Temple, on the ninth of Av 2,000 years ago.
On one side of the coin there was an image of a goblet and around it were the words:
“To the redemption of Zion”, while on the other side was a branch of a palm tree between two citrons, around which were the words: “Year Four”.
Pablo Betzer and Eyal Marco, directors of the excavation said: “it seems as though the cache was buried a few months before the fall of Jerusalem. This gives us a glimpse into Jewish life in the suburbs of Jerusalem at the end of the rebellion.
It looks like someone here feared the end was approaching, and so he hid his property in hopes of collecting it later, at a more peaceful time.”
