Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Volume 4
Contents
2009
Israel
9 Editors’ Note Numismatic
Research
9 Evangeline Markou: Some Cypriot Gold Coins?
21 Haim Gitler and Oren Tal: More Evidence on the Collective Mint of Philistia
39 Yigal Ronen: On the Chronology of the Yehud Falcon Coins
47 Nicholas L. Wright: Two New Imitative Issues from the Fifth Syrian War (202–198 4 | 2009
BCE)
51 Oliver D. Hoover: A New Hellenistic Lead Issue from the Southern Levant
57 David Hendin: A Medallion of Agrippa II
63 Cecilia Meir: Tyrian Sheqels from the ‘Isfiya Hoard, Part One
73 Gabriela Bijovsky: A Burning Testimony: Two Bronze Hoards from the Time of the
First Jewish Revolt
83 Gary M. Fine: Coins of Bar Kokhba: The Temple Water-Drawing Ceremony and the
Holiday of Sukkot
94 Alla Kushnir-Stein: Coins of Tiberias with Asclepius and Hygieia and the Question of
the City’s Colonial Status
109 Lionel Holland: An Unusual Lead Weight of 22 grammata
113 Wolfgang Schulze: The Byzantine ‘Eagle’ countermark – Re-attributed from Egypt to
Palestine
121 David J. Wasserstein: Islamic Coins and their Catalogues III: The Ikhshidids
135 Robert Kool and Warren C. Schultz: The Copper Coins of the Mamlūk Sultan al-
Malik al-Manṣūr Lājīn (r. AH 696–698/1297–1299 CE)
145 Ariel Berman: A Hoard from the First World War from the Area of Beer Sheva
159 Neryahu A. Shneydor: The Inscriptions on Modern Palestinian and Israeli Currency
173 REVIEW: C. Foss, Arab-Byzantine Coins. An Introduction, with a catalogue of the
Dumbarton Oaks collection. Washington, D.C. 2008. (Bruno Callegher)
4 | 2009
179 Abbreviations
Published by
The Israel Numismatic Society
Israel Numismatic Research
Published by the Israel Numismatic Society
ISSN 1565-8449
The editors are not responsible for opinions expressed by the contributors.
5 Editors’ Note
9 Evangeline Markou: Some Cypriot Gold Coins?
21 Haim Gitler and Oren Tal: More Evidence on the Collective Mint of
Philistia
39 Yigal Ronen: On the Chronology of the Yehud Falcon Coins
47 Nicholas L. Wright: Two New Imitative Issues from the Fifth Syrian War
(202–198 BCE)
51 Oliver D. Hoover: A New Hellenistic Lead Issue from the Southern Levant
57 David Hendin: A Medallion of Agrippa II
63 Cecilia Meir: Tyrian Sheqels from the ‘Isfiya Hoard, Part One
73 Gabriela Bijovsky: A Burning Testimony: Two Bronze Hoards from the
Time of the First Jewish Revolt
83 Gary M. Fine: Coins of Bar Kokhba: The Temple Water-Drawing Ceremony
and the Holiday of Sukkot
94 Alla Kushnir-Stein: Coins of Tiberias with Asclepius and Hygieia and the
Question of the City’s Colonial Status
109 Lionel Holland: An Unusual Lead Weight of 22 grammata
113 Wolfgang Schulze: The Byzantine ‘Eagle’ countermark – Re-attributed
from Egypt to Palestine
121 David J. Wasserstein: Islamic Coins and their Catalogues III: The Ikhshidids
135 Robert Kool and Warren C. Schultz: The Copper Coins of the Mamlūk
Sultan al-Malik al-Manṣūr Lājīn (r. AH 696–698/1297–1299 CE)
145 Ariel Berman: A Hoard from the First World War from the Area of Beer
Sheva
159 Neryahu A. Shneydor: The Inscriptions on Modern Palestinian and Israeli
Currency
173 REVIEW: C. Foss, Arab-Byzantine Coins. An Introduction, with a
catalogue of the Dumbarton Oaks collection. Washington, D.C. 2008.
(Bruno Callegher)
179 Abbreviations
Editors’ Note
Editors’ Note
In keeping with the editors’ wishes — and those of the membership of Israel
Numismatic Society — that Israel Numismatic Research be in the forefront of
numismatic study of the southern Levant (see Editors’ Note in INR 2), the editors
present here the following note.1 In it, the datings of certain coins given in a key
numismatic work in the region are improved.
In 46 BCE Julius Caesar instituted a new solar calendar of 365¼ days, with
January 1st as its first day.2 This calendar of Caesar, with slight later modifications,
was destined to become the civil calendar of the modern world. Scholars of
antiquity use it — under the name ‘Julian’ and without subsequent modifications
— for dates pertaining to ancient history.
Other calendars of antiquity had their starting points in a variety of seasons.
Therefore, an ancient date — other than pertaining to Rome itself — almost
always overlaps parts of two consecutive Julian years. Consequently, when given
in terms of the Julian calendar, it must be expressed by a double figure. The
earlier figure will correspond to the first part of the local year, from the beginning
of the year to December 31st, and the later figure will correspond to the period
from January 1st (of the next Roman year) to the end of that local year. It is
obvious that indicating only a single Julian year as an equivalent of an ancient
non-Roman date would be both inexact and misleading.
Most modern scholars are aware of the necessity to indicate an ancient date
by a double figure but, unfortunately, equations to a single Roman year are still
frequent. This appears to stem, at least in part, from reference works that have
inexact date-indications. For the southern Levant one important such reference
book is Ya‘akov Meshorer’s A Treasury of Jewish Coins from the Persian Period
to Bar Kochba (Jerusalem and Nyack 2001; abbrev. TJC). Some dates are given
there in double figures, but many are not. Thus, a few dates for the coins of Herod
Antipas, Philip and Agrippa I are in single Julian figures, and so are also most of
the dates for the coins of the early Roman governors (prefects/procurators). The
matter is aggravated further by the fact that many dates that are given in double
figures have an error of one year.
Given the extensive use of TJC in modern research, a table listing the full
double-figure date indications, and in some cases corrections, for the volume is
provided below. It includes all coins of Herod Antipas, Philip, and Agrippa I of
the Herodian family, and all of prefects/procurators. To clarify the fact that not all
5
6 EDITORS’ NOTE
dates in these categories in TJC required such treatment, we have indicated those
without change with asterisks. Dates for the dated coins of other rulers in TJC
(Alexander Jannaeus, Herod, Agrippa II) are not dealt with here.
Actual
TJC Cat. Date on Coin TJC Date
Ruler First Year Date
No. (CE)
(CE)
HERODIANS
75–78 Herod Antipas 4/3 BCE KΔ, 24 19/20 20/21
79–82 “ “ ΛΓ, 33 28/29 29/30
83–86 “ “ ΛΔ, 34 29/30 30/31
87–90 “ “ ΛZ, 37 32/33 33/34
91–94 “ “ MΓ, 43 39 39/40
ROMAN PREFECTS/PROCURATORS
311–312 Under Augustus 31/30 BCE3 Λς, 36 6/7 5/6
313 “ “ ΛΘ, 39 9/10 8/9
314 “ “ M, 40 10/11 9/10
EDITORS’ NOTE 7
Actual
TJC Cat. Date on Coin TJC Date
Ruler First Year Date
No. (CE)
(CE)
315 “ “ MA, 41 11/12 10/11
3 The only era pertaining to the reign of Augustus that is known for the southern Levant
is the so-called ‘Actian era’, which falls in September 31 BCE.
4 Formally speaking, the date is 54/5 CE, but since Claudius died in October 54, the
coin is most likely to have been minted before the end of that year.
A Burning Testimony: Two Bronze Hoards from
the Time of the First Jewish Revolt
Gabriela Bijovsky
Israel Antiquities Authority
gabriela@israntique.org.il
Abstract
Two assemblages of burnt coins dated to the end of the first Jewish revolt, were discovered
in the Temple Mount excavations of Benjamin Mazar in Jerusalem. The coins provide a vivid
evidence of the destruction of the city by fire in 70 CE.
The Romans, thinking it useless, now that the temple was on fire, to spare the surrounding
buildings, set them all alight, both the remnants of the porticoes and the gates, excepting two,
one on the east and the other on the south; these, also, they subsequently razed to the ground.
They further burnt the treasury-chambers, in which lay vast sums of money, vast piles of
raiment, and other valuables (Josephus, BJ 6:281).
March 70 CE.3 Only three coins minted in Jerusalem before the revolt — two
of Agrippa I (41/2 CE) and a procuratorial coin dated to 54 CE — are present.
These earlier coins are also mentioned by Avigad as components of the currency
in circulation until 70 CE unearthed in houses excavated in the Jewish Quarter
(Avigad 1983:195; Ariel, Jewish Quarter, forthcoming). The same phenomenon is
confirmed by the presence of a number of these earlier coins in the accumulation
of 195 prutot discovered by Reich and Billig and mentioned above (see n. 1).
3 Extensive literature has been dedicated to the interpretation of the legends and symbols
appearing on the three bronze denominations struck during the fourth year, and their
innovative nature vis-à-vis the “year two” and “year three” types. Hence, this issue
will not be discussed here. See, in general, TJC:124–130 and more recent discussions
in Goodman 2005; Goldstein and Fontanille 2006 and Rappaport 2007.
76 GABRIELA BIJOVSKY
4 A search for first Jewish revolt coins from all sites in Israel (registered in the IAA)
shows similar proportions among the three groups: “year two” (4564 coins; 74.5%),
“year three” (1249 coins; 20.3%) and “year four” (313 coins; 5.1%).
A BURNING TESTIMONY 77
“eighth” denomination depicting the cup (Meshorer 1989:118, No. 3492).5 The
fact that not all types of “year four” are represented at Masada is not surprising.
By that time Jerusalem was already isolated from the countryside and the only
possibility that rebel coins could depart the city would have been by means of
people fleeing Jerusalem. This is what apparently happened regarding Herodium
and Masada. Therefore, the place where one would expect to find the most coins
of “year four” — and all of the denominations — is Jerusalem itself.
In sum, the most intriguing question about both assemblages from Mazar’s
excavations remains their almost exclusive composition of “year four” coin
types. According to the quantitative patterns shown above, one would expect to
find in an ordinary hoard of this kind considerable numbers of prutot of “year
two” and smaller quantities of “year three” coins. The fact that most of the coins
in these assemblages belong to “year four”, a series which certainly continued to
circulate during the fifth year of the revolt, when no new bronze coins were issued,
suggests that their character was more of an emergency nature. Reich and Billig’s
accumulation of 195 prutot found near these assemblages is in comparison, more
like a ‘savings hoard’ — accrued over some time during the revolt, but not at its
very end. In contrast, Mazar’s two assemblages, containing mostly money struck
closer to the end of the revolt, perhaps found their way to the two spots under the
Robinson’s Arch close to the time when the Temple and its surroundings were
being set to the torch.
HOARD A (L6098)6
Agrippa I, Jerusalem, 41/2 CE.
Obv: [ΒΑ]CΙΛΕωC [ΑΓΡΙΠΑ] Canopy
Rev.: Three ears of corn; in fields: L–ϛ.
Æ prutah, TJC:231, No. 120
No. Condition IAA No.
A1* Badly burnt 45395
5 When compared to the rest of the coins from the first Jewish revolt found at Masada, the
sole “half” denomination coin shows signs of very prolonged use (Meshorer 1989:73,
118, No. 3492). The coin is extremely worn and is pierced, indicating a secondary use
as a pendant. These features suggest that the coin might not have arrived at the site
together with the rest of the “year four” coins. The coin may have been deposited later,
as it does not seem plausible that it became so worn from its minting in 69/70 CE until
the fall of Masada in 73 CE.
6 Coins bearing an asterisk are illustrated in Plates 14–15. Due to the bad preservation of
the coins their measurements are not given. This information, moreover, is irrelevant
to the discussion.
78 GABRIELA BIJOVSKY
HOARD B (L6095)
Agrippa I, Jerusalem, 41/2 CE.
Obv: [ΒΑ]CΙΛΕωC [ΑΓΡΙΠΑ] Canopy.
Rev.: Three ears of corn; in fields: L–ϛ.
Æ prutah, TJC:231, No. 120.
No. Condition IAA No.
B1 Fragment, scorched 45426
7 This coin was published by Meshorer, see AJC 2:262, No. 29a and TJC:243, No.
213a.
80 GABRIELA BIJOVSKY
REFERENCES
Ariel D.T. Jewish Quarter, Forthcoming. Coins. In H. Geva ed. Jewish Quarter Excavations
in the Old City of Jerusalem. Conducted by Nahman Avigad, 1969–1982. IV: Area
B. Final Report. Jerusalem.
Ariel D.T. Qumran, Forthcoming. Coins from Excavations at Qumran. In Y. Magen and Y.
Peleg. Excavations at Khirbet Qumran.
Avigad N. 1983. Discovering Jerusalem. Nashville.
Foerster G. 1969. Herodium. IEJ 19:123–124.
Gitler H. 1996. A Comparative Study of Numismatic Evidence from Excavations in Jerusalem.
LA 46:317–362.
Goldstein I. and Fontanille J.-P. 2006. A New Study of the Coins of the First Jewish Revolt
against Rome, 66–70 C.E. ANA Journal 1/2:9–32.
Goodman M. 2005. Coinage and Identity: The Jewish Evidence. In C. Howgego, V. Heuchert
and A. Burnett eds. Coinage and Identity in the Roman Provinces. Oxford. Pp. 163–
166.
A BURNING TESTIMONY 81
Meshorer Y. 1989. Masada I: The Yigael Yadin Excavations 1963–1965, Final Report. The
Coins. Jerusalem. Pp. 71–132.
Rappaport U. 2007.Who Minted the Jewish War’s Coins? INR 2:103–116.
Reich R. 2009. The Sack of Jerusalem in 70 CE: Flavius Josephus’ Description and the
Archaeological Record. Cathedra for the History of Eretz Israel and its Yishuv
131:25–42 (Hebrew).
Reich R. and Billig Y. 1998. Jerusalem, Robinson’s Arch. The Jerusalem Archaeological Park
of the Second Temple Period. Excavations and Surveys in Israel 18:88–90.
ABBREVIATIONS
AJC Y. Meshorer Ancient Jewish Coinage. Dix Hills, NY 1982
AJN American Journal of Numismatics
BMC e.g., BMC Arab.: G.F. Hill. Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Arabia, Mesopotamia, and
Persia. London 1922
BMCO e.g., BMCO 1: S. Lane-Poole. The Coins of the Eastern Khaleefehs in the British Museum.
Catalogue of the Oriental Coins in the British Museum 1. London 1875
CH Coin Hoards
CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
CNP e.g., L. Kadman. The Coins of Akko Ptolemais (Corpus Nummorum Palestinensium IV).
Jerusalem 1961
CRE e.g., H. Mattingly. The Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum I. Augustus to
Vitellius. London 1923
DOC e.g., P. Grierson. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and
in the Whittemore Collection 3. Leo III to Nicephorus III 717–1081. Washington, D.C. 1973
IEJ Israel Exploration Journal
IG Inscriptiones Graecae
IGCH M. Thompson, O. Mørkholm and C.M. Kraay. An Inventory of Greek Coin Hoards. New
York 1973
INJ Israel Numismatic Journal
INR Israel Numismatic Research
LA Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Liber Annuus
LRBC e.g., P.V. Hill and J.P.C. Kent. Part 1: The Bronze Coinage of the House of Constantine,
A.D. 324–46. In Late Roman Bronze Coinage (A.D. 324–498). London 1965. Pp. 4–40
MIB e.g., W. Hahn. Von Anastasius I. bis Justinianus I (491–565). Moneta Imperii Byzantini
1. Österreische Akademie der Wissenschaften Philosophisch-Historische Klasse Denk-
scriften 109. Veröffenklichungen der Numismatischen Kommission 1. Vienna 1973
MIBE e.g., W. Hahn. Money of the Incipient Byzantine Empire (Anastasius I–Justinian I, 491–
565) (Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte der Universität
Wien 6). Vienna 2000
MN American Numismatic Society Museum Notes
NC Numismatic Chronicle
NCirc. Numismatic Circular
NNM Numismatic Notes and Monographs
NZ Numismatische Zeitschrift
RRC M.H. Crawford. Roman Republican Coinage. Cambridge 1974
RIC e.g., C.H.V. Sutherland. The Roman Imperial Coinage I. From 31 BC to AD 69. London 1984
RN Revue Numismatique
RPC e.g., A. Burnett, M. Amandry and I. Carradice. From Vespasian to Domitian (AD 69–96).
Roman Provincial Coinage 2. London 1999
SC e.g., A. Houghton and C. Lorber. Seleucid Coins. A Comprehensive Catalogue. Part I.
Seleucus I through Antiochus III. New York, Lancaster, PA and London 2002
SICA e.g., S. Album and T. Goodwin. Sylloge of Islamic Coins in the Ashmolean, Volume 1: The
Pre-Reform Coinage of the Early Islamic Period. Oxford 2002
SNAT e.g., L. Ilisch. Sylloge Numorum Arabicorum Tübingen–Palästina IVa Bilād aš-Šām I.
Tübingen 1993
SNG Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum (with suffix as necessary, e.g. SNG Cop.)
SNR Schweizerische Numismatische Rundschau
TINC Transactions of the International Numismatic Congress
TJC Y. Meshorer. A Treasury of Jewish Coins from the Persian Period to Bar Kochba. Jerusa-
lem and Nyack 2001
ZfN Zeitschrift für Numismatik
179
Plate 16
A1 A3
A7 A8
A11 A16
A23 A24
A28 A29
A31 A34
GABRIELA BIJOVSKY
Plate 17
B4 B6
B7 B8
B10
GABRIELA BIJOVSKY