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The name of the man who ordained Jesus crucified and running his trial, the former infamous Roman governor of Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate, was deciphered on a bronze ring discovered during excavations on the site of Herodion near Bethlehem in the West Bank about 50 years ago. .
The ring was found during a search conducted by Professor Gideon Forster of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, shortly after the Six Day War in 1968-1969, as part of the preparations to open the site to visitors.
The results have recently been communicated to the current team working on the site, led by Dr. Roee Porath, also from the Hebrew University.
The ring was one of the thousands of objects found in the search. The famous name that figure there was discerned after a thorough cleaning, when he was photographed with a special camera in the laboratories of the Israeli Antiquities Authority. The inscription on what was apparently a stamping ring contained an image of a wine vase surrounded by Greek writing translated by "Pilatus".
The name of Pilatus was linked to that of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, mentioned in the New Testament as the executioner of Jesus. Pilate was the fifth of the Roman rulers in Judah, and apparently the most important of them. He ruled in the years 26 to 36, and some say even from 19 years. The name was rare in Israel at that time, says Professor Danny Schwartz.
"I do not know any other Pilatus of this period and the ring shows that he was a person of size and wealth," Schwartz said.
A striking ring of this type also marks the status of the cavalry in the Roman era, to which belonged Pilate. The ring is quite simple, so the researchers think that it was used by the governor in his daily work or belonged to one of his officials or to a member of his court who used it for sign on his behalf.
There was another discovery in Israeli archeology bearing the name Pilatus, which is also attributed to the infamous Roman. In the 1960s, Professor Forster found a stone bearing his name.
The fortress of Herodion was built by King Herod who also gave him his name. After his death in the first century, he became an immense burial place. But the upper part of the complex continued to be used by the Roman authorities who reigned over Judea at that time. It is likely that Pilate also used Herodion as the headquarters of the central government.
Pilate is a well known historical figure, whose image was that of a powerful ruler. The historian Josephus says that he moved to Jerusalem emblematic medallions bearing the imperial bust of Caesar against the Jewish law prohibiting such idols in the holy city. The discovery of this act sparked an outcry, which ended when Pilate threatened the protesters with mbad murder.
"The Jews seemed to have repeated it in advance, falling to the ground, craning their necks to announce how they would sacrifice their lives so as not to violate the teachings of the Torah." Pilate responded by immediately ordering the statues to bring Jerusalem out, writes Josephus.
In another case, Josephus tells how Pilate used the treasures of the sacred temple to finance renovations to the water distribution system that Herod had built in Jerusalem.
The researchers in the New Testament evoke stories about the Bethlehem area where Herodion later became the site of a large Christian village.
"You can see that he had a natural connection with Herodion," Porath said. "Even for Herod, it was more than a tomb with a palace. It was also an important government site. You can see the unusual meaning of this site. "
The research on the ring was led by Professor Shua Amurai-Stark and Malcha Hershkovitz, and an article about it was published last week in the Israeli newspaper of exploration.
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