![]() Even during Roman rule, these coins were still being used and circulated as a means of what Stripling hypothesizes to be a sort of passive resistance to Roman rule. As the entire point of this revolution had been as a response to the Hellenization of Judaea and the revival of Jewish cultural norms it is therefore no surprise that Hasmonean coinage shows distinct departures from other coins of the period. They were used for generations long after the Maccabees” he explains. Simon was succeeded in 135 BCE by his son, John Hyrcanus I, the first Hasmonean ruler to issue coinage. They are an important indicator of life and antiquity. 35-8, and The emergence of Hasmonean coinage.’ American Jewish Studies Review 1 (1976), 17186. Yet the members of the family never saw themselves as breaking with tradition. And although Stripling admits that he discovers Alexander Jannaeus coins “virtually every day” discovering the coin on Chanukah, which celebrates those very Hasmoneans is extra significant. Great and sudden were the changes which the Hasmonean family brought to the character and religion of the Jews. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently announced the discovery of the rare Hasmonean coin hoardhidden in a rock fissureat the modern Israeli city of Modi’in. Alexander Jannaeus ruled from 103 to 76 BCE. After nearly 2,140 years, a hoard of silver coins dating to the Hasmonean Period (126 B.C.E.) has once again seen the light of day. Without it, archaeologists have thrown out about 50% of the small finds” he added.Īccording to Stripling, the coin dates back to the late 2nd Temple period. He does this using a process called ‘wet sifting’ which ” increases chances of finding coins and other small finds. (Numbers 24:17)ĭuring his sifting project in Shiloh, an ancient city in the Samarian region of Israel, Stripling explains that he’s discovering approximately 5-7 coins each day using a more advanced technology that catches coins and other small finds that most other archaeologists miss. What I see for them is not yet, What I behold will not be soon: A star rises from Yaakov, A scepter comes forth from Yisrael It smashes the brow of Moab, The foundation of all children of Shet. The coin had a star on it in what Stripling describes as a “messianic symbol” that relates to the prophecy of Jacob’s star in Numbers: One of those coins was of Alexander Jannnaeus – the second Hasmonean ruler. Yaakov Meshorer, A Treasury of Jewish Coins (New York 2001), pl. “We discovered 20 coins last week and a half were Hasmonean coins,” archaeologist Scott Stripling told Breaking Israel News. The find’s timing couldn’t be more appropriate as the holiday of Chanukah commemorates that very period in Jewish history when Judah led a Maccabean revolt against the Greco-Syrian rule. Additionally, excavation of a mikveh, a Jewish ritual bath, in an adjacent area on the estate led to the discovery of extensive hiding spaces littered with artifacts dating to the Bar-Kokhba Revolt against Rome (132–135 C.E.).A Chanukah miracle? During an archaeological sifting project over the holiday of Chanukah, archaeologists discovered a 2,000 year-old-coin from the Hasmonean dynasty. The archaeologists found hiding spaces carved in the bedrock beneath the floors of the estate. In a fight to gain independence from the Roman Empire, Tendler said, “The inhabitants of the estate filled the living rooms next to the outer wall of the building with large stones, thus creating a fortified barrier.” The project found coins dated to “Year Two” of the revolt and bearing the legend “Freedom of Zion.” The emergence of Hasmonean coinage at sites throughout Galilee points to its economic and political orientation toward Judea, a point especially apparent. ![]() Tendler said that the excavation also uncovered evidence that the residents who lived on the estate may have been involved in the First Jewish Revolt against the Romans, which erupted in 66 C.E. Which finds made our top 10 Biblical archaeology discoveries of 2016? Find out > Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles - Auction 130, Lot 1153. “Dozens of rock-hewn winepresses that reflect the importance of viticulture and the wine industry in the area were exposed in the cultivation plots next to the estate.” “The findings from our excavation show that a Jewish family established an agricultural estate on this hill during the Hasmonean period,” said Tendler. and subsequently established the Hasmonean dynasty, which had semi-autonomous rule from the Seleucids over Judea until the Romans conquered the Land of Israel in 63 B.C.E. The Maccabees rebelled against the Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes in the 160s B.C.E. Modi’in, where the Hasmonean coin hoard was found, was the hometown of the Maccabees. Antiochus VII was the last king of the ruling Hellenistic Seleucid dynasty (r. The face of the silver coins bore images of Seleucid King Antiochus VII and his brother Demetrius II.
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