{ "version": "45.1.0", "generated": "2026-09-23", "title": "Numismatics Workbench", "methodNote": "Coins can directly attest issuing authorities, titles, dates, monetary standards and political imagery, while archaeological find context constrains circulation and deposition. Biblical coin identifications remain separate from the numismatic facts unless the text itself specifies enough detail.", "methodRules": [ { "title": "Shekel ≠ coin before coinage", "text": "In much of the Hebrew Bible, “shekel” is a unit of weight/value rather than a struck coin. Numismatic interpretation begins only after coined money enters the southern Levant." }, { "title": "Issue date ≠ deposit date", "text": "A coin gives a terminus post quem for an archaeological context: a deposit cannot predate its youngest securely identified coin, but the coin may have circulated for years or decades before burial." }, { "title": "Issuer ≠ findspot", "text": "The ruler or mint named by a coin identifies the issuing authority, not necessarily the place where the coin was used, lost, hoarded or excavated." }, { "title": "Legend ≠ whole event", "text": "A royal name or title is direct evidence for the authority claimed on the coin. It does not independently establish every narrative event associated with that ruler." }, { "title": "Coin type ≠ Gospel identification", "text": "A text may name a denomination or describe an image without specifying a mint/type. “Tribute penny,” “widow’s mite,” and “thirty pieces of silver” should remain candidate identifications unless the text itself is more specific." }, { "title": "Mint attribution can move", "text": "Die style, metrology, hoards and distribution can revise mint attributions. The late Tyrian-shekel “Jerusalem mint” proposal is not treated as consensus." }, { "title": "Hoard TPQ ≠ exact burial year", "text": "The youngest coin constrains when a hoard could have been buried; it does not by itself provide the exact concealment date or reason." }, { "title": "Overstrike preserves two histories", "text": "Bar Kokhba overstrikes reuse older Roman/Greek coins. The undertype and rebel type must be analyzed separately rather than blended into one issuing authority." }, { "title": "Iconography ≠ simple theology", "text": "Images on coins communicate political, civic and religious messages, but motifs can be borrowed or conventional. A symbol is not automatically a transparent statement of personal belief." } ], "sources": [ { "id": "hendin-2013", "title": "Current Viewpoints on Ancient Jewish Coinage: A Bibliographic Essay", "authors": "David Hendin", "year": 2013, "kind": "peer-reviewed numismatic review", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/1476993X12459634", "note": "Survey of pre-coinage currency, Persian provincial issues, Hasmonean and Herodian coinage, the First Revolt and Bar Kokhba coinage." }, { "id": "ans-yehud-silver", "title": "Persian Silver of Judah", "authors": "David Hendin / American Numismatic Society", "year": 2015, "kind": "institutional numismatic synthesis", "url": "https://numismatics.org/pocketchange/persian-silver-of-judah/", "note": "Introduces the tiny Yehud silver issues and the Paleo-Hebrew YHD legend." }, { "id": "lco-yehud-14-1", "title": "Yehud Coinage 14.1", "authors": "Levantine Coinages Online / ANS", "year": 2026, "kind": "open scholarly coin-type corpus", "url": "https://numismatics.org/lco/id/lco.yhd.14.1", "note": "Late Persian Yehud hemiobol with lily, falcon and YHD legend." }, { "id": "cohen-yehud-metallurgy", "title": "Archaeometallurgical Analysis of the Provincial Silver Coinage of Judah", "authors": "Maayan Cohen, Dana Ashkenazi, Haim Gitler, Oren Tal", "year": 2023, "kind": "peer-reviewed archaeometallurgy / numismatics", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16062200", "note": "Analysis of 50 late Persian/Macedonian Yehud silver coins and their controlled high-purity silver-copper alloys." }, { "id": "tal-lco-2026", "title": "Levantine Coinages Online: A New Research Tool for Southern Levantine Coinage", "authors": "Oren Tal", "year": 2026, "kind": "peer-reviewed digital numismatics", "url": "https://lockwoodonlinejournals.com/index.php/inr/article/view/3098", "note": "Open corpus architecture for Yehud and Samarian provincial coinages and future southern-Levantine series." }, { "id": "sco-antiochus-iv", "title": "Silver Tetradrachm of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, 167–164 BCE", "authors": "American Numismatic Society / Seleucid Coins Online", "year": 2026, "kind": "museum + scholarly type record", "url": "https://numismatics.org/collection/1944.100.75288", "note": "Coins preserve Antiochus IV’s royal name and the epithets Theos Epiphanes Nikephoros alongside Zeus/Nike iconography." }, { "id": "jannaeus-rule-2020", "title": "Alexander Jannaeus as High Priest and King: Struggling between Jewish and Hellenistic Concepts of Rule", "authors": "Kenneth Atkinson", "year": 2020, "kind": "peer-reviewed historical-numismatic study", "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11010040", "note": "Analyzes Jannaeus’s bilingual coin legends and combined high-priestly/royal presentation." }, { "id": "jewish-museum-antigonus", "title": "Prutah of King Mattathias Antigonus", "authors": "The Jewish Museum", "year": 2026, "kind": "museum object record", "url": "https://collections.thejewishmuseum.org/collection/26737-coin-prutah-of-king-mattathias-antigonus", "note": "Temple-vessel imagery on the last Hasmonean ruler’s coinage, including the seven-branched menorah." }, { "id": "rpc-herod-4901", "title": "RPC I 4901 — Herod, Year 3", "authors": "Roman Provincial Coinage Online", "year": 2026, "kind": "scholarly coin-type corpus", "url": "https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/4901", "note": "Large early Herodian bronze issue carrying the Greek title “of King Herod.”" }, { "id": "rpc-herod-4910", "title": "RPC I 4910 — Herod undated bronze", "authors": "Roman Provincial Coinage Online", "year": 2026, "kind": "scholarly coin-type corpus", "url": "https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/4910", "note": "Jerusalem bronze with anchor/cornucopia and the legend “of King Herod.”" }, { "id": "rpc-archelaus-4917", "title": "RPC I 4917 — Herod Archelaus", "authors": "Roman Provincial Coinage Online", "year": 2026, "kind": "scholarly coin-type corpus", "url": "https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/4917", "note": "Archelaus bronze explicitly uses the title ethnarch." }, { "id": "rpc-antipas-4929", "title": "RPC I 4929 — Herod Antipas, Year 34", "authors": "Roman Provincial Coinage Online", "year": 2026, "kind": "scholarly coin-type corpus", "url": "https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/4929", "note": "Tiberias bronze dated to Antipas year 34 (30/31 CE), naming the tetrarch and city." }, { "id": "rpc-philip-4944", "title": "RPC I 4944 — Philip the Tetrarch, Year 30", "authors": "Roman Provincial Coinage Online", "year": 2026, "kind": "scholarly coin-type corpus", "url": "https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/4944", "note": "Caesarea Paneas issue names Tiberius Caesar and Philip the tetrarch, with tetrastyle temple imagery." }, { "id": "rpc-pilate-4967", "title": "RPC I 4967 — Judaea under Pontius Pilate, Tiberius Year 16", "authors": "Roman Provincial Coinage Online", "year": 2026, "kind": "scholarly coin-type corpus", "url": "https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/4967", "note": "Jerusalem issue dated 29 CE with Tiberius/Livia legends, simpulum and grain ears." }, { "id": "rpc-agrippa1-4981", "title": "RPC I 4981 — Agrippa I, Year 6", "authors": "Roman Provincial Coinage Online", "year": 2026, "kind": "scholarly coin-type corpus", "url": "https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/4981", "note": "Jerusalem bronze dated 41/42 CE, explicitly reading “of King Agrippa.”" }, { "id": "ocre-tiberius-30", "title": "RIC I² Tiberius 30 — denarius", "authors": "Online Coins of the Roman Empire / ANS", "year": 2026, "kind": "open scholarly Roman coin corpus", "url": "https://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.1%282%29.tib.30", "note": "Silver denarius of Tiberius with imperial portrait and PONTIF MAXIM reverse, struck at Lugdunum." }, { "id": "ins-tyrian-shekels", "title": "Israel Numismatic Research 11 abstracts — Tyrian sheqels and mint attribution", "authors": "Edward E. Cohen et al. / Israel Numismatic Society", "year": 2016, "kind": "specialist numismatic journal abstracts", "url": "https://www.ins.org.il/48/", "note": "Supports the mainstream attribution of Tyrian shekels naming Tyre to the Tyrian mint and records southern-Levantine date-numeral patterns." }, { "id": "ramat-rahel-tyrian-hoard", "title": "The Ramat Raḥel Hoard of Tyrian Shekels", "authors": "Y. Farhi, U. Davidovich, Y. Gadot, O. Lipschits", "year": 2010, "kind": "archaeological hoard publication", "url": "https://chre.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/reference/?direction=desc&page=45&sort=r.year&type=11", "note": "A securely archaeological Tyrian-shekel hoard providing circulation and terminus evidence in Judaea." }, { "id": "boi-currency", "title": "Currency Exhibition — Roman governors, Jewish Revolt and Bar Kokhba", "authors": "Bank of Israel", "year": 2024, "kind": "institutional numismatic overview", "url": "https://www.boi.org.il/en/bank-of-israel/education-and-visitors-center/the-currency-exhibit-development-of-money/part3/", "note": "Overview of local governor coinage and revolt issues, including dated First Revolt silver and Bar Kokhba inscriptions." }, { "id": "elkins-judaea-capta", "title": "Publicizing Victory: The Frequency and Audience of Flavian “Judaea Capta” Coins from the Imperial Mints", "authors": "Nathan T. Elkins", "year": 2019, "kind": "peer-reviewed numismatic study", "url": "https://www.lockwoodonlinejournals.com/index.php/inr/article/view/2787", "note": "Quantifies the frequency and audience of imperial Judaea Capta types and cautions against assuming ubiquitous exposure." }, { "id": "raviv-zissu-2024", "title": "An Update on the Geographical Distribution of the Coins Minted by the Bar Kokhba Administration in Judea", "authors": "Dvir Raviv, Boaz Zissu", "year": 2024, "kind": "peer-reviewed distribution study", "url": "https://lockwoodonlinejournals.com/index.php/inr/article/view/2910", "note": "Uses 63 overstruck coins from 19 sites to refine the geographical reach of Bar Kokhba rebel activity." }, { "id": "ashmolean-bar-kokhba", "title": "Tetradrachm, Judaea — Bar Kokhba Revolt", "authors": "Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford", "year": 2026, "kind": "museum object record", "url": "https://www.ashmolean.org/tetradrachm-judaea", "note": "Overstruck silver revolt coin with “Simon” and “for the freedom of Jerusalem,” Temple façade and festival imagery." }, { "id": "ins-war-minting", "title": "Corpus Nummorum Palaestinensium — Jewish War coinage: minting technique", "authors": "Israel Numismatic Society", "year": 2025, "kind": "specialist corpus PDF", "url": "https://www.ins.org.il/files/files/CNP%203%20Jewish%20War.pdf", "note": "Technical discussion of First Revolt planchet production and the contrast with Bar Kokhba overstriking." }, { "id": "iaa-abu-ghosh-year4-hoard", "title": "Abu Ghosh, Ha-Arazim Street — Year Four First Revolt Coin Hoard", "authors": "Israel Antiquities Authority; excavation report with coin study by Donald T. Ariel and colleagues", "year": 2023, "kind": "IAA excavation final report", "url": "https://hadashot.iaa.org.il/Report_Detail_Eng.aspx?id=26340", "note": "Controlled excavation context for an in-situ smashed juglet containing 114 bronze Year Four First Revolt coins; report discusses denomination, condition and distribution." }, { "id": "iaa-western-wall-tunnels-coins", "title": "Coins from the Western Wall Tunnels, Jerusalem", "authors": "Yanniv David Levy", "year": 2025, "kind": "IAA peer-reviewed excavation report", "url": "https://publications.iaa.org.il/atiqot/vol119/iss1/16/", "note": "Thirteen identified coins from 2018–2020 excavations; sealed and foundation contexts provide chronological anchors for the Herodian triclinium and a First Revolt-period miqveh." }, { "id": "iaa-siloam-road-coins", "title": "The Coins from the City of David (‘Ir David), Siloam Road", "authors": "Donald T. Ariel", "year": 2020, "kind": "IAA peer-reviewed excavation report", "url": "https://publications.iaa.org.il/atiqot/vol101/iss1/8/", "note": "Twenty of 27 excavated coins were identified; all are bronze, Jerusalem-minted and fall within the final c. 110 years before 70 CE, ending with a Year Four revolt issue." }, { "id": "iaa-nahal-shalva-hoard", "title": "A Treasure from Nahal Shalva: Exquisite Jewelry and a Coin Hoard from the Days of the Bar Kokhba Revolt", "authors": "Yael Abadi-Reiss, Gabriela Bijovsky, Shua Amorai-Stark, Naama Sukenik, Shoshana Israeli and Emil Aladjem", "year": 2024, "kind": "IAA peer-reviewed excavation report", "url": "https://publications.iaa.org.il/atiqot/vol112/iss1/6/", "note": "Publishes a silver-and-gold Bar Kokhba-period coin hoard found near a female burial, preserved in at least two linen purses, and discusses its depositional setting." } ], "profiles": [ { "id": "precoinage-shekel", "title": "Before Coins: the Biblical “Shekel” as Weight and Value", "dateRange": "Bronze/Iron Ages before widespread coinage", "period": "Pre-coinage", "region": "Levant", "focus": "method / monetary vocabulary", "authority": "weight-based exchange", "mint": "—", "denomination": "shekel / gerah as units", "metal": "silver by weight", "legend": "No struck legend", "iconography": "weighed metal, balance weights, hacksilver", "signal": "Biblical monetary vocabulary often predates coinage itself. A “shekel” in Torah/monarchy contexts should not be illustrated as a later Jewish coin.", "interpretation": "Treat early shekel references as metrological/economic evidence unless a struck coin is explicitly in view.", "boundary": "Do not retroject Persian, Hasmonean or Roman coins into Bronze/Iron Age narratives.", "eventIds": [], "siteIds": [], "artifactIds": [], "sourceIds": [ "hendin-2013" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "Gen 23:16", "Exod 30:13", "2 Sam 24:24" ], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "yehud-athena-owl", "title": "Yehud Athena/Owl Hemiobols — Provincial Judah Enters Coinage", "dateRange": "c. 350–333 BCE", "period": "Late Persian", "region": "Yehud / Jerusalem", "focus": "provincial issue", "authority": "Yehud Medinata", "mint": "Yehud mint, probably Jerusalem region", "denomination": "hemiobol / tiny silver fraction", "metal": "silver", "legend": "YHD in Paleo-Hebrew/Aramaic", "iconography": "Athena head / owl; local legend substitutes for Athenian ethnic", "signal": "These tiny issues are among the earliest locally struck coins carrying the name of Judah and Hebrew-script political geography.", "interpretation": "They document local monetary administration within Persian imperial structures and a community comfortable adapting an international Athenian type.", "boundary": "The coin says Yehud; it does not prove a specific Ezra-Nehemiah episode or a Temple-controlled mint.", "eventIds": [ "ezra-nehemiah" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "yehud-stamps-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "ans-yehud-silver", "cohen-yehud-metallurgy" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [ "Yehud silver" ] }, { "id": "yehud-lily-falcon", "title": "Yehud Lily/Falcon Silver — Local Symbols within Imperial Coinage", "dateRange": "c. 350–333 BCE", "period": "Late Persian", "region": "Yehud", "focus": "provincial issue", "authority": "Yehud Medinata", "mint": "Yehud mint", "denomination": "hemiobol", "metal": "silver", "legend": "YHD", "iconography": "lily / falcon in flight", "signal": "The Yehud series includes explicitly local symbols alongside the provincial legend.", "interpretation": "The series is evidence for a small-scale Judahite minting authority and localized iconographic choices before the Hellenistic kingdoms.", "boundary": "The lily may invite Temple associations, but the motif is not a direct label for the Jerusalem Temple.", "eventIds": [ "ezra-nehemiah" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "yehud-stamps-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "lco-yehud-14-1" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [ "Yehud silver" ] }, { "id": "yehud-metallurgical-standard", "title": "Yehud Silver Production — Controlled Alloy Recipes", "dateRange": "c. 350–302/1 BCE", "period": "Late Persian–Early Hellenistic", "region": "Yehud", "focus": "production / metrology", "authority": "Yehud and successor provincial authorities", "mint": "Yehud mint", "denomination": "small silver fractions", "metal": "high-purity silver with minor copper", "legend": "varied YHD / portrait / falcon types", "iconography": "microscopy, XRF and SEM-EDS on 50 coins", "signal": "The series was manufactured with controlled silver-copper compositions rather than random scrap metal.", "interpretation": "This gives a technological and economic dimension to the provincial minting system and cross-links Numismatics with Archaeometallurgy.", "boundary": "Alloy consistency does not by itself locate the mint or identify its institutional sponsor.", "eventIds": [ "alexander" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "yehud-stamps-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "cohen-yehud-metallurgy" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [ "Yehud silver metallurgy" ] }, { "id": "samarian-persian-coinage", "title": "Samarian Provincial Coinage — A Neighboring Monetary Authority", "dateRange": "4th century BCE", "period": "Late Persian", "region": "Samaria", "focus": "regional provincial coinage", "authority": "Samarian authorities", "mint": "Samaria region", "denomination": "small silver issues", "metal": "silver", "legend": "ŠMRYN and other local legends/types in corpus", "iconography": "diverse Persian, Greek and local imagery", "signal": "A distinct Samarian coinage existed alongside Yehud, showing that local monetary identities were plural within the Persian southern Levant.", "interpretation": "This is useful context for the political world of Persian Yehud and Samaria rather than a single “Jewish coinage” system.", "boundary": "Samarian coinage does not identify Sanballat or any individual named in Nehemiah unless a specific legend independently does so.", "eventIds": [ "ezra-nehemiah" ], "siteIds": [ "samaria" ], "artifactIds": [ "wadi-daliyeh-samaria-papyri" ], "sourceIds": [ "tal-lco-2026" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "antiochus-iv-tetradrachm", "title": "Antiochus IV Epiphanes — Royal Epithets on Silver", "dateRange": "175–164 BCE; type shown 167–164 BCE", "period": "Seleucid", "region": "Seleucid Empire / Judaea context", "focus": "royal propaganda / titulature", "authority": "Antiochus IV Epiphanes", "mint": "Antioch and other Seleucid mints", "denomination": "tetradrachm", "metal": "silver", "legend": "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ", "iconography": "royal portrait; Zeus enthroned holding Nike", "signal": "His coinage materially preserves the king’s self-presentation as “God Manifest” and “Bearer of Victory.”", "interpretation": "The titles and iconography provide independent evidence for the ideological world of the ruler whose policies triggered the Maccabean crisis.", "boundary": "The coinage does not independently establish the Temple desecration or persecution narrative; those depend on textual and archaeological evidence.", "eventIds": [ "eleusis-antiochus-roman-ultimatum", "antiochus-temple-desecration", "maccabees" ], "siteIds": [], "artifactIds": [], "sourceIds": [ "sco-antiochus-iv" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "1 Macc 1", "2 Macc 4–6" ], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "john-hyrcanus-prutot", "title": "John Hyrcanus I — “High Priest and the Community/Council of the Jews”", "dateRange": "134–104 BCE", "period": "Hasmonean", "region": "Judea", "focus": "ruler/title issue", "authority": "John Hyrcanus I", "mint": "Jerusalem", "denomination": "prutah and fractions", "metal": "bronze", "legend": "Paleo-Hebrew: Yehohanan the High Priest … and the Jews", "iconography": "wreath; double cornucopia; pomegranate and related motifs", "signal": "Hasmonean bronze coinage makes priestly office and collective Jewish political language visible in everyday money.", "interpretation": "The coinage is direct evidence for the title claimed by the ruler and the Hasmonean state’s monetary autonomy.", "boundary": "The debated sense of ḥeber (“council/community”) should not be translated into a specific constitutional structure with more precision than the coins allow.", "eventIds": [ "hasmonean-state" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "hasmonean-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "hendin-2013", "jannaeus-rule-2020" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "jannaeus-bilingual", "title": "Alexander Jannaeus — High Priest and King in Hebrew and Greek", "dateRange": "103–76 BCE", "period": "Hasmonean", "region": "Judea", "focus": "bilingual ruler issue", "authority": "Alexander Jannaeus / Yehonatan", "mint": "Jerusalem", "denomination": "prutah", "metal": "bronze", "legend": "Paleo-Hebrew priestly/royal titles + Greek ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ", "iconography": "anchor, star, wreath, cornucopia and other Hellenistic/Judaean motifs", "signal": "Jannaeus used both Jewish priestly language and Hellenistic kingship vocabulary on his coins.", "interpretation": "The bilingual coinage shows how Hasmonean government negotiated local tradition and Hellenistic monarchy in the same medium.", "boundary": "The imagery is political communication, not a complete map of Jannaeus’s theology or popular reception.", "eventIds": [ "hasmonean-state" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "hasmonean-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "jannaeus-rule-2020" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "antigonus-menorah", "title": "Mattathias Antigonus — Menorah and Showbread Table on Coinage", "dateRange": "40–37 BCE", "period": "Late Hasmonean", "region": "Jerusalem / Judea", "focus": "Temple iconography / ruler issue", "authority": "Mattathias Antigonus", "mint": "Jerusalem", "denomination": "prutah", "metal": "bronze", "legend": "Hebrew “Mattatayah the High Priest”; Greek “King Antigonus”", "iconography": "seven-branched menorah / showbread table", "signal": "A rare late-Hasmonean issue depicts central Temple furnishings while naming Antigonus as both king and high priest.", "interpretation": "It is important visual evidence for how the Jerusalem Temple could be mobilized as political-religious symbolism immediately before Herod’s takeover.", "boundary": "The tiny stylized image should not be treated as an engineering drawing of the Temple menorah or table.", "eventIds": [ "parthian-invasion-herod", "herod" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "hasmonean-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "jewish-museum-antigonus" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "herod-year3", "title": "Herod the Great — Early Dated Royal Bronze", "dateRange": "40–37 BCE (regnal Year 3 chronology debated within that interval)", "period": "Herodian", "region": "Judea / Samaria", "focus": "ruler chronology", "authority": "Herod the Great", "mint": "Sebaste / Judaean sphere", "denomination": "large bronze", "metal": "copper alloy", "legend": "Greek “of King Herod,” Year 3", "iconography": "tripod, palm branches and related symbols", "signal": "Early Herodian bronzes directly preserve Herod’s royal title and a regnal-year formula.", "interpretation": "They help establish the numismatic self-presentation of the ruler Rome installed during the civil conflict with Antigonus.", "boundary": "The conversion of “Year 3” into a modern BCE year depends on how Herod’s regnal era is reckoned.", "eventIds": [ "parthian-invasion-herod", "herod" ], "siteIds": [ "samaria" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "rpc-herod-4901" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "herod-jerusalem-bronze", "title": "Herod’s Jerusalem Bronzes — Local Royal Currency", "dateRange": "late 1st century BCE", "period": "Herodian", "region": "Jerusalem / Judea", "focus": "local bronze system", "authority": "Herod the Great", "mint": "Jerusalem", "denomination": "small bronze", "metal": "copper alloy", "legend": "Greek “of King Herod”", "iconography": "anchor; caduceus; crossed cornucopia", "signal": "Undated bronze types circulated under Herod and were continued/adapted by Archelaus.", "interpretation": "The series documents a local low-denomination monetary system beneath the larger silver currencies circulating in the region.", "boundary": "An undated Herodian bronze is poor evidence for a narrow archaeological year unless its stratigraphic context supplies the date.", "eventIds": [ "herod", "herod-temple" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "rpc-herod-4910" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "archelaus-ethnarch", "title": "Archelaus — “Ethnarch” on Coinage", "dateRange": "4 BCE–6 CE", "period": "Herodian successor", "region": "Judea", "focus": "title / succession", "authority": "Herod Archelaus", "mint": "Jerusalem", "denomination": "bronze", "metal": "copper alloy", "legend": "Greek ΕΘΝΑΡΧΟΥ (“of the ethnarch”)", "iconography": "grapes/vine leaf; helmet; caduceus; anchor on related types", "signal": "Archelaus’s coinage directly preserves the lesser title ethnarch rather than king.", "interpretation": "This is a compact material witness to the political fragmentation after Herod’s death and the status of Judea before direct Roman annexation.", "boundary": "The coins do not date Yeshua’s birth; they only define the issuing authority’s reign and title.", "eventIds": [ "herod-death", "quirinius-census", "birth-jesus" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "rpc-archelaus-4917" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "Matt 2:22" ], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "antipas-tiberias", "title": "Herod Antipas — Tiberias Coin Dated 30/31 CE", "dateRange": "30/31 CE", "period": "Early Roman / Herodian tetrarchy", "region": "Galilee", "focus": "dated local issue", "authority": "Herod Antipas", "mint": "Tiberias", "denomination": "small bronze", "metal": "copper alloy", "legend": "“of Herod the tetrarch,” Year 34; Tiberias abbreviation", "iconography": "palm branch / wreath", "signal": "A coin issue from the precise ministry-era horizon names Antipas as tetrarch and his city Tiberias.", "interpretation": "It independently anchors the political and civic setting behind Gospel references to Herod Antipas and Galilee.", "boundary": "It does not directly attest John the Baptist, Yeshua, or a particular Gospel episode.", "eventIds": [ "john-baptist", "ministry", "crucifixion" ], "siteIds": [], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "rpc-antipas-4929" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "Luke 3:1", "Mark 6" ], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "philip-paneas", "title": "Philip the Tetrarch — Tiberius, Philip and Caesarea Paneas on Coinage", "dateRange": "26/27–33/34 CE issues", "period": "Early Roman / Herodian tetrarchy", "region": "Gaulanitis / Caesarea Paneas", "focus": "ruler-city-imperial relationship", "authority": "Philip, son of Herod", "mint": "Caesarea Paneas", "denomination": "bronze", "metal": "copper alloy", "legend": "Tiberius Caesar / “under Philip the tetrarch” on major types", "iconography": "imperial portrait; tetrastyle temple; wreath on fractions", "signal": "Philip’s issues place a local tetrarch, the Roman emperor and a monumental civic/temple image on the same coinage.", "interpretation": "They give direct political context for the Caesarea Philippi region and the tetrarchy named in Luke 3.", "boundary": "The temple design is numismatic iconography and should not be treated as a precise architectural elevation.", "eventIds": [ "john-baptist", "ministry" ], "siteIds": [], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "rpc-philip-4944" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "Luke 3:1", "Matt 16:13" ], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "roman-governor-prutot", "title": "Roman Governors of Judaea — Local Bronze without Governor Portraits", "dateRange": "6–66 CE", "period": "Roman provincial", "region": "Judea", "focus": "provincial administration", "authority": "Roman prefects/procurators under the emperor", "mint": "Jerusalem and Judaean minting system", "denomination": "prutah-scale bronzes", "metal": "copper alloy", "legend": "imperial names/dates vary by issue", "iconography": "plants, wreaths, ritual implements and other non-imperial portraits", "signal": "Governors issued small local bronzes for Judaea under Roman authority; the coins are an everyday material record of direct rule.", "interpretation": "The series brackets the administrative world from annexation through the outbreak of the First Revolt.", "boundary": "Most issues do not name the prefect/procurator personally; attribution depends on the emperor/date and administrative chronology.", "eventIds": [ "quirinius-census", "tiberius-pilate", "first-jewish-revolt" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "boi-currency", "hendin-2013" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [ "Roman Judaea coin alloys" ] }, { "id": "pilate-29", "title": "Pontius Pilate Horizon — Tiberius Year 16 Coin of 29 CE", "dateRange": "29 CE", "period": "Roman prefecture", "region": "Judea / Jerusalem", "focus": "dated prefectural issue", "authority": "Roman authority during Pontius Pilate’s prefecture", "mint": "Jerusalem", "denomination": "prutah", "metal": "copper alloy", "legend": "Tiberius Caesar Year 16 / Julia (Livia)", "iconography": "simpulum / three grain ears", "signal": "The issue is precisely dated to 29 CE and belongs to Pilate’s prefectural tenure, even though his personal name is absent.", "interpretation": "This is direct material evidence for the monetary administration operating immediately before the likely crucifixion years.", "boundary": "Calling it a “coin of Pontius Pilate” is an administrative attribution; the coin itself names Tiberius and Livia, not Pilate.", "eventIds": [ "tiberius-pilate", "ministry", "crucifixion" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "rpc-pilate-4967" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "Luke 3:1", "John 18–19" ], "scienceQueries": [ "Roman Judaea procuratorial alloys" ] }, { "id": "tyrian-shekel", "title": "Tyrian Shekels and Half-Shekels — High-Purity Silver in the Temple Economy", "dateRange": "126/125 BCE–66/67 CE", "period": "Late Hellenistic–Early Roman", "region": "Phoenicia / Judaea circulation", "focus": "silver standard / Temple economy", "authority": "Tyre", "mint": "Tyre (mainstream attribution for coins naming Tyre)", "denomination": "shekel/tetradrachm and half-shekel/didrachm", "metal": "high-fineness silver", "legend": "Tyre “holy and inviolable” legends with dates", "iconography": "Melqart-Herakles / eagle", "signal": "Tyrian silver circulated heavily in Judaea and became closely associated with the Second Temple’s half-shekel payment system.", "interpretation": "The coins connect numismatics, cult economy, money-changing and archaeological hoards directly to Second-Temple Jerusalem.", "boundary": "The proposal that post-19 BCE “Tyrian” issues were actually struck in Jerusalem is contested and is not presented as consensus.", "eventIds": [ "hasmonean-state", "herod-temple", "ministry", "crucifixion", "first-jewish-revolt" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "ins-tyrian-shekels", "ramat-rahel-tyrian-hoard" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "Matt 17:24–27", "Matt 21:12" ], "scienceQueries": [ "Tyrian shekel silver" ] }, { "id": "temple-tax-stater", "title": "Matthew 17 — Didrachma and Stater as Coin Values, Not a Proven Specimen", "dateRange": "1st century CE narrative", "period": "Early Roman", "region": "Galilee / Jerusalem", "focus": "biblical denomination", "authority": "unspecified", "mint": "unspecified", "denomination": "didrachma tax; stater payment", "metal": "typically silver value terminology", "legend": "Text gives Greek denomination/value terms", "iconography": "no numismatic image specified by text", "signal": "Matthew 17 describes a two-drachma Temple tax and a stater sufficient for two payments.", "interpretation": "A Tyrian shekel is a historically plausible match for the stater value within the Temple-tax system.", "boundary": "The Gospel does not name Tyre or preserve the physical coin; “therefore it was definitely a Tyrian shekel” would overstate the evidence.", "eventIds": [ "ministry" ], "siteIds": [], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "ins-tyrian-shekels", "hendin-2013" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "Matt 17:24–27" ], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "tiberius-denarius", "title": "The “Tribute Penny” — Tiberius Denarius as Leading Candidate, Not Certainty", "dateRange": "14–37 CE issue", "period": "Roman imperial", "region": "Roman Empire / Judaea circulation", "focus": "biblical coin candidate", "authority": "Tiberius", "mint": "Lugdunum", "denomination": "denarius", "metal": "silver", "legend": "TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS / PONTIF MAXIM", "iconography": "laureate portrait of Tiberius / seated female figure", "signal": "A very common Tiberian denarius type fits the Gospel’s denarius with Caesar’s image and inscription during Tiberius’s reign.", "interpretation": "It is the strongest conventional candidate for the coin in “Render to Caesar,” and illustrates the imperial image/legend logic of the saying.", "boundary": "The Gospel does not give a catalogue number. Earlier denarii, including Augustan issues, could remain in circulation; identification with RIC 30 is plausible, not certain.", "eventIds": [ "tiberius-pilate", "ministry" ], "siteIds": [], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "ocre-tiberius-30", "hendin-2013" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "Matt 22:19–21", "Mark 12:15–17", "Luke 20:24–25" ], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "widows-mite", "title": "The Widow’s Two Lepta — Low-Value Bronze, Not an Identified Ruler Type", "dateRange": "1st century CE narrative", "period": "Early Roman", "region": "Jerusalem", "focus": "biblical denomination / circulation", "authority": "unspecified local low-denomination currency", "mint": "multiple possible mints/issues", "denomination": "lepton; two = quadrans in Mark’s gloss", "metal": "bronze/copper alloy", "legend": "text names denomination, not issuer", "iconography": "not specified", "signal": "The Gospel identifies two very small-value coins (lepta) and explains their combined Roman value, but gives no mint or ruler.", "interpretation": "Hasmonean and Herodian small bronzes provide the correct monetary environment for the story.", "boundary": "Modern souvenir “widow’s mite” labels often identify Alexander Jannaeus prutot too confidently; the text does not establish that exact type.", "eventIds": [ "ministry" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "hasmonean-coins", "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "hendin-2013" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "Mark 12:41–44", "Luke 21:1–4" ], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "thirty-silver", "title": "“Thirty Pieces of Silver” — Monetary Amount without a Numismatic Type", "dateRange": "1st century CE narrative", "period": "Early Roman", "region": "Jerusalem", "focus": "biblical monetary identification", "authority": "unspecified", "mint": "unspecified", "denomination": "thirty silver pieces", "metal": "silver", "legend": "text gives amount, not legend/type", "iconography": "not specified", "signal": "The betrayal price is a textual monetary amount, not a numismatic catalogue identification.", "interpretation": "Temple-associated Tyrian silver is a historically plausible candidate pool because it was high-fineness silver used in Jerusalem, but the wording does not force that solution.", "boundary": "No surviving coin can be identified as one of Judas’s thirty pieces, and multiple silver denominations circulated.", "eventIds": [ "crucifixion" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "ins-tyrian-shekels", "hendin-2013" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "Matt 26:14–16" ], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "agrippa-i", "title": "Agrippa I — “King Agrippa” on Jerusalem Coinage", "dateRange": "41/42 CE (Year 6)", "period": "Early Roman client kingdom", "region": "Judea / Jerusalem", "focus": "direct ruler attestation", "authority": "Herod Agrippa I", "mint": "Jerusalem", "denomination": "prutah", "metal": "copper alloy", "legend": "Greek “of King Agrippa,” Year 6", "iconography": "canopy / three grain ears", "signal": "An abundant Jerusalem issue directly names Agrippa as king and dates itself by his regnal era.", "interpretation": "This is independent material attestation of the ruler who appears in Acts 12 and Josephus.", "boundary": "The coin does not attest Agrippa’s persecution of the Jesus movement or the circumstances of his death.", "eventIds": [ "caligula-temple-crisis", "agrippa-i-death" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "rpc-agrippa1-4981" ], "biblicalRefs": [ "Acts 12" ], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "first-revolt-silver", "title": "First Jewish Revolt Silver — “Shekel of Israel / Jerusalem the Holy”", "dateRange": "66/67–70 CE (Years 1–5)", "period": "First Jewish Revolt", "region": "Judea / Jerusalem", "focus": "rebel sovereignty / dated coinage", "authority": "Jewish revolt administration", "mint": "Jerusalem", "denomination": "shekel, half-shekel, quarter-shekel", "metal": "silver", "legend": "Paleo-Hebrew: “Shekel of Israel,” “Jerusalem the Holy,” regnal/revolt years", "iconography": "chalice; pomegranate buds and Temple-associated symbolism", "signal": "The revolt produced its own dated silver coinage in Paleo-Hebrew, a particularly strong material declaration of political and cultic autonomy.", "interpretation": "Year marks give unusually tight chronological anchors for archaeological contexts and document the rebels’ claim to sovereignty.", "boundary": "A revolt shekel found in a context dates the context no earlier than its issue; it does not identify who deposited it or why.", "eventIds": [ "first-jewish-revolt", "jerusalem-temple-destroyed-70" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "boi-currency", "ins-war-minting" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [ "Jewish Revolt coin silver" ] }, { "id": "first-revolt-bronze", "title": "First Revolt Bronze — “Freedom of Zion” and a Wartime Monetary Shift", "dateRange": "67–70 CE", "period": "First Jewish Revolt", "region": "Judea", "focus": "rebel ideology / denomination system", "authority": "Jewish revolt administration", "mint": "Jerusalem", "denomination": "bronze denominations", "metal": "bronze", "legend": "Paleo-Hebrew freedom formulas vary by issue/year", "iconography": "amphora, vine leaf, lulav/etrog and other Jewish symbols", "signal": "Later revolt bronze issues combine everyday small change with explicit political slogans.", "interpretation": "The coinage shows that revolt ideology was not confined to elite silver; it circulated through ordinary transactions.", "boundary": "Iconographic slogans document the rebel program, not the political views of every person who handled the coins.", "eventIds": [ "first-jewish-revolt", "jerusalem-temple-destroyed-70" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "boi-currency", "ins-war-minting" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "judaea-capta", "title": "Flavian “Judaea Capta” — Roman Victory Commemoration after 70 CE", "dateRange": "70s CE onward", "period": "Flavian Roman", "region": "Roman Empire", "focus": "imperial victory propaganda", "authority": "Vespasian, Titus and Flavian authority", "mint": "imperial mints", "denomination": "denarii, sestertii and other denominations", "metal": "silver / bronze / gold across series", "legend": "IVDAEA CAPTA and related victory legends on some types", "iconography": "mourning Judaea, palm tree, captives, trophies, Victory", "signal": "Rome turned the suppression of the revolt into imperial coin imagery distributed through state currency.", "interpretation": "The series is direct evidence for official Roman commemoration of the Judaean victory and complements the Arch of Titus visual program.", "boundary": "These types were not ubiquitous; frequency studies show that explicit Judaea Capta imagery formed a minority of circulating imperial types.", "eventIds": [ "jerusalem-temple-destroyed-70" ], "siteIds": [], "artifactIds": [ "arch-of-titus-spoils-relief" ], "sourceIds": [ "elkins-judaea-capta" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "agrippa-ii-flavian", "title": "Agrippa II under the Flavians — Client Kingship after the Revolt", "dateRange": "70s–90s CE", "period": "Flavian / client kingdom", "region": "Galilee, Paneas and neighboring regions", "focus": "client-ruler / imperial partnership", "authority": "Agrippa II under Vespasian, Titus and Domitian", "mint": "Tiberias / Caesarea Paneas and related mints", "denomination": "bronze", "metal": "copper alloy", "legend": "imperial names paired with “King Agrippa” and dated eras", "iconography": "Tyche, wreaths, Nike, palm and other civic/imperial types", "signal": "Agrippa II’s postwar coinage explicitly pairs his kingship with Flavian emperors.", "interpretation": "It materially documents the political accommodation of a Herodian client ruler within the post-70 Roman order.", "boundary": "The coinage’s multiple eras and mint attributions can be chronologically complex; regnal-year conversion should follow RPC rather than simple arithmetic.", "eventIds": [ "jerusalem-temple-destroyed-70" ], "siteIds": [], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "hendin-2013" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "bar-kokhba-overstrikes", "title": "Bar Kokhba Overstrikes — “Simon / For the Freedom of Jerusalem”", "dateRange": "132–135 CE", "period": "Bar Kokhba Revolt", "region": "Judea", "focus": "rebel sovereignty / overstriking", "authority": "Bar Kokhba administration under Simon ben Kosiba", "mint": "rebel-controlled Judaea", "denomination": "sela/tetradrachm, denarii and bronzes", "metal": "silver / bronze", "legend": "Paleo-Hebrew “Simon,” “for the freedom of Jerusalem,” other year/freedom formulas", "iconography": "Temple façade, lulav/etrog, vessels and other Jewish motifs over Roman/Greek undertypes", "signal": "The rebels systematically overstruck existing imperial/provincial currency, replacing visible Roman authority with their own Hebrew legends and sacred/national imagery.", "interpretation": "This is unusually direct material evidence for the revolt’s political program and for its use of Jerusalem/Temple restoration symbolism.", "boundary": "The Temple façade on the coin is programmatic imagery, not proof that rebels recaptured Jerusalem or rebuilt the Temple.", "eventIds": [ "bar-kokhba-revolt" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "ashmolean-bar-kokhba", "boi-currency" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "bar-kokhba-distribution", "title": "Bar Kokhba Coin Distribution — Mapping the Reach of Rebel Activity", "dateRange": "132–135 CE", "period": "Bar Kokhba Revolt", "region": "Judea and southern Samaria", "focus": "distribution / archaeological geography", "authority": "Bar Kokhba administration", "mint": "multiple findspots; mint structure debated", "denomination": "overstruck rebel coinage", "metal": "silver / bronze", "legend": "revolt legends", "iconography": "varied rebel types", "signal": "A 2024 study of 63 recently documented coins from 19 sites expands the securely mapped distribution of rebel coinage.", "interpretation": "Findspots can constrain where rebel-controlled or rebel-connected activity occurred and can be compared with refuge caves, settlements and Roman military evidence.", "boundary": "Coin discovery maps are conditioned by excavation, reporting, looting and collection history; absence of coins is not proof of absence of rebels.", "eventIds": [ "bar-kokhba-revolt" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "raviv-zissu-2024" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "coin-hoards-method", "title": "Coin Hoards — Terminus Post Quem, Circulation and Crisis without Storytelling", "dateRange": "all coined periods", "period": "Methodological", "region": "Levant", "focus": "hoard method", "authority": "multiple", "mint": "multiple", "denomination": "mixed", "metal": "mixed", "legend": "mixed", "iconography": "assemblage composition / youngest coin / wear / mint distribution", "signal": "Coin hoards can establish a latest possible starting boundary for burial and reveal which currencies circulated together.", "interpretation": "They are especially powerful for transition horizons such as late Persian Yehud, Herodian Judaea, the First Revolt and Bar Kokhba.", "boundary": "A hoard does not automatically equal an invasion, revolt or fleeing household; concealment motive and exact burial date require context.", "eventIds": [ "first-jewish-revolt", "bar-kokhba-revolt" ], "siteIds": [], "artifactIds": [ "wadi-daliyeh-samaria-papyri" ], "sourceIds": [ "ramat-rahel-tyrian-hoard", "hendin-2013" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "abu-ghosh-year4-hoard", "title": "Abu Ghosh Year Four Hoard — 114 Coins in a Smashed Juglet", "dateRange": "69/70 CE", "period": "First Jewish Revolt", "region": "Judaea / Jerusalem corridor", "focus": "hoard / deposition context", "authority": "Jewish revolt administration", "mint": "Jerusalem", "denomination": "smallest Year Four bronze; commonly estimated at 1/8 shekel", "metal": "bronze", "legend": "Obverse: ‘for the redemption of Zion’; reverse: ‘year four’", "iconography": "chalice; lulav bundle between two etrogs", "signal": "A controlled excavation recovered 114 coins of a single Year Four type from an in-situ smashed juglet; the pieces were exceptionally fresh and probably saw little or no circulation.", "interpretation": "This hoard links a tightly dated Jerusalem rebel issue to a rural site on the western approach to Jerusalem and provides a concrete deposition dataset rather than a type-only coin record.", "boundary": "The hoard securely documents coin type, context and deposition. Its exact concealment motive and the identity or political commitments of the depositor remain unknown.", "archaeologicalContext": "Room 2 of a terraced Roman-period building at Abu Ghosh; the juglet was cached by the eastern wall, probably in a niche or concealed crack, and found in situ.", "depositionType": "concealed hoard in vessel", "seriesChronology": "All 114 coins belong to Year Four of the First Jewish Revolt (69/70 CE), making the deposit unusually homogeneous and chronologically tight.", "eventIds": [ "first-jewish-revolt", "jerusalem-temple-destroyed-70" ], "siteIds": [], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "iaa-abu-ghosh-year4-hoard" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "western-wall-tunnels-coin-anchors", "title": "Western Wall Tunnels Coins — Stratigraphic Anchors for Monumental Jerusalem", "dateRange": "17–68 CE (key contexts)", "period": "Early Roman / First Jewish Revolt", "region": "Jerusalem", "focus": "stratigraphic numismatics / terminus post quem", "authority": "Roman imperial / Agrippa I / Roman prefectural-procuratorial issues", "mint": "multiple; assemblage used as contextual dating evidence", "denomination": "bronze small change", "metal": "bronze", "legend": "varied Early Roman issues", "iconography": "varied", "signal": "Coins from sealed and foundation contexts date construction and modification episodes: a Tiberius issue of 17–25 CE under a fountain floor establishes a post-17 CE terminus, while a coin in a miqveh foundation dates that installation to 67/68 CE.", "interpretation": "This is a direct example of coins functioning as stratigraphic dating tools rather than only as political or iconographic artifacts.", "boundary": "A coin supplies a terminus post quem, not the exact construction date; residual circulation and the integrity of each archaeological context must still be evaluated.", "archaeologicalContext": "2018–2020 excavations in the Western Wall Tunnels; key coins came from a sealed deposit beneath the triclinium fountain floor and from a miqveh foundation.", "depositionType": "sealed construction/foundation contexts", "seriesChronology": "The sequence moves from Tiberian construction evidence through Agrippa I and Roman governor issues to a First Revolt foundation deposit, allowing phased architectural dating.", "eventIds": [ "first-jewish-revolt" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "iaa-western-wall-tunnels-coins" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "siloam-road-coin-assemblage", "title": "Siloam Road Coin Assemblage — Jerusalem-Minted Bronze before 70 CE", "dateRange": "c. 40 BCE–69/70 CE", "period": "Late Second Temple / First Jewish Revolt", "region": "Jerusalem / City of David", "focus": "excavated assemblage / circulation chronology", "authority": "Hasmonean-Herodian and Roman-period Jerusalem issuers", "mint": "Jerusalem", "denomination": "bronze denominations", "metal": "bronze", "legend": "varied Jerusalem issues", "iconography": "varied", "signal": "The excavation yielded 27 coins, 20 identifiable; every identified piece is bronze and Jerusalem-minted, with the latest a Year Four First Revolt coin from 69/70 CE.", "interpretation": "The assemblage provides a bounded urban circulation sequence for the Siloam Road and ties numismatic chronology directly to an excavated City of David context.", "boundary": "The assemblage dates activity and circulation in the excavated area; it does not imply that only Jerusalem issues circulated throughout Judaea or that every coin was deposited soon after minting.", "archaeologicalContext": "Excavated in the southeastern City of David along the Siloam Road complex.", "depositionType": "excavation assemblage", "seriesChronology": "Identified coins span roughly the final 110 years before Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 CE and terminate with a Year Four revolt issue.", "eventIds": [ "first-jewish-revolt", "jerusalem-temple-destroyed-70" ], "siteIds": [ "jerusalem" ], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "iaa-siloam-road-coins" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] }, { "id": "nahal-shalva-bar-kokhba-hoard", "title": "Nahal Shalva Treasure — Bar Kokhba Coin Hoard in Two Linen Purses", "dateRange": "132–135 CE", "period": "Bar Kokhba Revolt", "region": "Judaean Desert fringe / Nahal Shalva", "focus": "hoard / depositional association", "authority": "Bar Kokhba-period monetary circulation", "mint": "mixed hoard", "denomination": "silver and gold coins", "metal": "silver / gold", "legend": "varied", "iconography": "varied", "signal": "A coin hoard from the Bar Kokhba period was recovered near a female skeleton and associated objects, with the coins preserved in at least two linen purses.", "interpretation": "The deposit adds a tightly contextualized hoard to the distribution corpus and preserves an unusually informative association between coins, textiles and a human depositional context.", "boundary": "The spatial association is archaeological evidence; the precise relationship between the deceased, the hoard owner and the circumstances of deposition remains interpretive.", "archaeologicalContext": "Excavated at Nahal Shalva near a female skeleton with jewelry, a sword and cosmetic implements; the hoard lay nearby in at least two linen purses.", "depositionType": "treasure/hoard associated with burial context", "seriesChronology": "The assemblage belongs to the Bar Kokhba Revolt horizon and can be compared with the broader distribution of rebel overstrikes and refuge/deposition sites.", "eventIds": [ "bar-kokhba-revolt" ], "siteIds": [], "artifactIds": [ "herodian-coins" ], "sourceIds": [ "iaa-nahal-shalva-hoard" ], "biblicalRefs": [], "scienceQueries": [] } ], "numismaticProfilesByArtifact": { "yehud-stamps-coins": [ "yehud-athena-owl", "yehud-lily-falcon", "yehud-metallurgical-standard" ], "wadi-daliyeh-samaria-papyri": [ "samarian-persian-coinage", "coin-hoards-method" ], "hasmonean-coins": [ "john-hyrcanus-prutot", "jannaeus-bilingual", "antigonus-menorah", "widows-mite" ], "herodian-coins": [ "herod-year3", "herod-jerusalem-bronze", "archelaus-ethnarch", "antipas-tiberias", "philip-paneas", "roman-governor-prutot", "pilate-29", "tyrian-shekel", "temple-tax-stater", "tiberius-denarius", "widows-mite", "thirty-silver", "agrippa-i", "first-revolt-silver", "first-revolt-bronze", "agrippa-ii-flavian", "bar-kokhba-overstrikes", "bar-kokhba-distribution", "abu-ghosh-year4-hoard", "western-wall-tunnels-coin-anchors", "siloam-road-coin-assemblage", "nahal-shalva-bar-kokhba-hoard" ], "arch-of-titus-spoils-relief": [ "judaea-capta" ] }, "numismaticProfilesBySite": { "jerusalem": [ "yehud-athena-owl", "yehud-lily-falcon", "yehud-metallurgical-standard", "john-hyrcanus-prutot", "jannaeus-bilingual", "antigonus-menorah", "herod-jerusalem-bronze", "archelaus-ethnarch", "roman-governor-prutot", "pilate-29", "tyrian-shekel", "widows-mite", "thirty-silver", "agrippa-i", "first-revolt-silver", "first-revolt-bronze", "bar-kokhba-overstrikes", "bar-kokhba-distribution", "western-wall-tunnels-coin-anchors", "siloam-road-coin-assemblage" ], "samaria": [ "samarian-persian-coinage", "herod-year3" ] }, "counts": { "profiles": 33, "sources": 27, "periods": 22, "regions": 21, "eventLinks": 57, "siteLinks": 22, "artifactLinks": 32, "biblicalRefs": 22, "scienceQueries": 7, "contextProfiles": 4 } }