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A rare coin struck in year 69 – the fourth year of the Jewish revolt against Rome and the year the rebels despaired – was found last week by screening debris from the City of David. It was discovered in the sewerage network under ancient Jerusalem, pbading under the main road of the ancient city about 2000 years ago, said Reut Vilf of the City Foundation of David in Haaretz.
A cache of bronze coins dating from the time of the revolt was discovered in 2014 in a village near Jerusalem. Yet, others were dug up in a cave by the Temple Mount in 2018, starting in the second and fourth years of this unfortunate rebellion.
Like others struck in the year 69, the coin found now bears the words "For the Redemption of Zion" in the ancient Hebrew lettering, and a representation of a chalice . Its other side is the so-called "four species" and the words "Year Four". This is taken to refer to the last year of rebellion against the Romans, when Simon Bar Giora took the lead. Previously, the Jews had been led by Jean de Giscala.
The room could have been lost and fell into the drainage system through the cracks of the paved road, said Eli Shukron, archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Or, the money could have fallen from the pocket of a Jewish rebel hiding in the sewers below Jerusalem.
Hidden there, they did it. Yosef ben Matityahu, aka the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, commanded the rebels in Galilee and wrote in his stories about the Jews who were hiding in Jerusalem: "For they could not hide from God or the Romans" ( "The wars of the Jews," Book VI, chapter 7: 3).
"The piece was found exactly in the same place as the Jews were hidden in the drainage channel under the street," says Vilf. Solid evidence of the rebels' attempt to hide themselves include intact oil lamps for light and ceramic pots that were found revealing in the sewer itself.
"These objects could not have fallen over there.They would have broken in. Since they were found whole, someone had to deliberately put them there," Vilf pointed out. The excavators even found a Roman sword there.
Also, there is a revealing place where the stone steps of the street seem to have been torn off by soldiers looking underneath ("the last hiding place").
In short, Jews seeking refuge from the wrath and punishment of Rome tried to live in the sewers. The play clearly testifies to the morbid spirit of the rebels of the fourth and final year: they had lost hope.
Ariel David
Hiding in the sight
The "great revolt" against Rome broke out in the year 66, in the midst of religious tensions and resentment against the tax that the Romans imposed on the subjugated peoples. In its early stages, Jewish rebels achieved remarkable success against the powerful subjugator – including a mbadacre of Roman soldiers at the famous Battle of Beit Horon. The losses enraged Emperor Nero, who instructed his general, Vespasian, to crush Judea once and for all. Vespasian was helped by his son, Titus.
Most of the pieces found during the Great Revolt were struck in its second year. It was obviously a moment of hope for the Jews, even though in the year 67, Vespasian invaded Galilee and the Jews began to flee south towards Jerusalem, which was under rebel command.
Compared with previous years, few coins were found from the fourth year of the revolt. This can attest to the material stress suffered by the rebels – and emotional stress, as evidenced by the pbadage from "Liberty of Zion" to "Redemption of Zion".
"Freedom is an immediate thing, while redemption is a process," said Vilf, interpreting the message of the brief text. "This could attest to their understanding that the end was near." Realizing that they would not relieve Zion of the Roman oppressor, they began to hope for future redemption one day.
Another characteristic of rebel coins is that, while Jews used a square Hebrew script adapted from the Assyrian for about 2,400 years, these pieces had a more archaic – Paleo-Hebrew writing.
"We started using the Assyrian form of Hebrew during the days of the Second Temple," Vilf said. "But the rebels did their best to use the Paleo-Hebrew, presumably to show their heritage and tradition, and that they were special."
Indeed, this fourth year of rebellion against the Romans was also the last. By 70, the Roman forces would bring their full power and break the rebels, shaving Jerusalem and destroying (but looting first) the Second Temple.
It should be said once
Emperor Nero may have ordered the war against the annoying Jews, but it was not he who put an end to it. In the year 69, following series upheavals in Rome, General Vespasian became emperor, leaving his son Titus to roll over Jerusalem, which he did the following year.
The spoliation of the Temple is one of the disasters of Jewish history commemorated on the day of the fasting of 17 Tamuz, who is crying the breach in the walls of Jerusalem. The forces of Titus. This year, this date fell on Saturday, June 30th.
Judea had not been at the center of the fortunes of the Roman Empire, but it obviously caused Rome such a disproportionate aggravation that the emperor did not build a triumphal arch but two .
The two depict the fall of the Temple and the removal of its treasures, including the great menorah, which is shown so far on the Israeli currency, in Rome.
Read: What did the Arch of Titus
One, known as the Arch of Titus, have been known since the flames in Palestine are dead. The second has recently been discovered, unexpectedly, in a prominent place: the great race track of the Circus Maximus, exploited by the ancient Romans crazy Paris. They also issued special pieces boasting of victory over Judea. Conquering the pesky province and ransacking the Temple apparently bore a lot of boasting.
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