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A Hanukkah Miracle: Cache of 2,000-Year-Old Coins Found in Israel | Ancient Origins
a Hanukkah miracle, cash of 2,000-year-old coins found in Israel. Just how far back? According to the discoverers, these coins are actually more than 2,000 years old. This dates them back to the time when the ancient kingdom of Judea was ruled by the royal line of the Hasmonean dynasty, from 140 BC to 37 BC. The Hasmoneans were in power when Judea lost its independence to the Roman Republic in 63 BC. But before that calamitous event, the Hasmoneans ruled over a kingdom that was quite prosperous, and one that had managed to break free from the control of the hated, saluted empire, a Greek entity that attempted to force the people of Judea to worship Zeus, among its other transgressions, uncovering the coins of a Hasmonean king. There were approximately 160 coins in the cache, an unusually large number by any measure. The coins were unearthed along the ancient route of Nahal Tirza, which led travelers to a first century BC structure known as the Alexandrian Fortress, an outpost that was built during the Hasmonean period. Based on the initial examination, it seems the ultra-air coins were minted during the reign of the Hasmonean king Alexander Janius, who ruled as the monarch of Judea from 104 to 76 BC. The coins were discovered at the site of an ancient way station, where passers-by could presumably rest and obtain supplies. It was a location where money would change hands, in other words, leaving open the possibility that the cache of coins belonged to a merchant who was selling goods at the site. It was found inside a collapse near a wall, so it was either hidden inside the wall, or kept adjacent to the wall, said the excavations lead archaeologist, Dr. Shibar, in an interview with biblical scholar Aaron Lipkin posted on Facebook. Dr. Barr confirmed that this was one of the biggest hordes from this period ever found in Israel, which he believes would have been stored in a leather sack that disintegrated with the passage of time. The site itself represented a new find for the University of Haifa archaeological team, and they were delighted to discover that many of the facilities associated with the way station were well-preserved and relatively intact. Among the installations they found were a ritual bath, mikvah, and a reservoir that would have supplied it with fresh water, along with several other structures that suggest this was a rather large and heavily visited way station in ancient times. A close examination of the coins left no doubt about when they were made. Each coin was imprinted with an eight-point star, and features an inscription in Aramaic that reads "King Alexander Year 25" on the same side. On the reverse side, there is the image of an anchor, plus text in Greece that identifies the coins once again as belonging to King Alexander. The inclusion of the number 25 foot is presumed to refer to the year of the king's reign, which means the coins would have been made in 79 AD. It, the cache of coins, is important because this space was active for a limited period of time. Dr. Barr stated in a statement published in the Jerusalem Post, "From the moment we have these coins, which date from the time of Alexander Janius, with all the other finds there, we are given a very precise time capsule, something that does not always happen in archaeology." A special Hanukkah for the discoverers. The members of the excavation team are referring to the coin horde as an archaeological Hanukkah miracle, and there are good reasons for this designation beyond the time of the season when it was found, which was on the third day of this year's Hanukkah observance. In the time in which he lived, King Alexander Janius was widely admired and respected, in part because of his family connections. Known in the Hebrew language as Jonathan, the king was the son of Johanen Herkenes, the grandson of Simon the Hasmonean, and most notably of all a direct descendant of Metathius, the man who had initiated the legendary Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire in 167 BC. It was this rebellion that resulted in the recapture and rededication of the Second Temple in 164 BC, plus the capture of Jerusalem, and it is these events that are celebrated during the annual Hanukkah observance. Finding this Hasmonean treasure during Hanukkah gave the excavation team, including students and volunteers, a unique connection to history and the holiday, Dr. Barr stated. This discovery not only enriches our understanding of Hasmonean history, but also underscores the cultural heritage of this region. Source - University of Haifa by Nathan Fald