Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Gold Nero coin from Mt. Zion excavation

NUMISMATICS: Rare Roman gold coin found in Jerusalem at Mt. Zion archaeological dig (Science Daily).
Date: September 13, 2016

Source: University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Summary: Though the Roman Empire occupied Jerusalem and certainly spread its currency there, the only known Roman coins from the ancient Jewish capital have all come to historians and archaeologists through collectors, with uncertain provenance. An exception is a gold coin recently discovered near excavations of wealthy first century priestly houses on Jerusalem's Mt. Zion. Dated to 56 CE, it may be an remnant of looting at the time of the city's destruction in 70 CE.

The discovery of a rare gold coin bearing the image of the Roman Emperor Nero at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's archaeological excavations on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, has just been announced by the archaeologists in charge of the project, Drs. Shimon Gibson, James Tabor, and Rafael Lewis.

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Past posts on the Mt. Zion excavation and the other important discoveries there are collected here.