A Scientist Thinks These Ancient Roman Nails May Have Been Used To Crucify Jesus Christ

According to a new analysis, two corroded Roman-era iron nails which some have claimed pinned Jesus to the cross seem to have been used in an ancient crucifixion. The controversy about the origin of the nails was reignited by this study.

The latest research indicates that the nails of the tomb of the Jewish high priest Caiaphas, who supposedly handed Jesus over for execution to the Romans for execution. Slivers of wood and bone fragments suggest they may have been used in a crucifixion.

The connection to Caiaphas and the new evidence did not completely show that the nails were used to crucify Jesus in Jerusalem in A.D. 33, Geologist Aryeh Shimron, the lead author of the study published in the journal Archaeological Discovery.

“I certainly do not want to say that these nails are from the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth,” Shimron told Live Science. “But are they nails from a crucifixion? Very likely, yes.”

Where did the nails originate?

Israel Hershkovitz, a renowned anthropologist at Tel Aviv University, received the nails in an unmarked box from the collection of Nicu Haas, an Israeli anthropologist who died in 1986. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), Haas obtained them from a tomb excavated in the 1970s, decades before the Caiaphas tomb was discovered, according to Haaretz. 

But the IAA doesn’t know which tomb the nails came from, and no records of their provenance have ever been found. In a controversial 2011 documentary called “The Nails of the Cross,” however, filmmaker and journalist Simcha Jacobovici suggested the nails were those lost from the Caiaphas tomb — and that the high priest may have been so overcome with guilt about the crucifixion of Jesus that he kept the nails as a memento. 

Haaretz reported that some scholars, though no names were given, have called the latest research highly speculative.  But Shimron, a geologist based in Jerusalem who’s retired from the Israel Geological Survey, said the new study gave weight to the documentary’s ideas. Shimron has not studied the two nails that are the subject of Jacobovici’s 2011 documentary before now, though he was involved in a 2015 study tied to another of Jacobovici’s controversial documentaries on the archaeology of Jesus.

Workers widening a road discovered the first-century “Caiaphas” tomb in 1990 in a neighbourhood in the southeast of Jerusalem. The tomb contained 12 ossuaries —– one marked with the name “Qayafa” and another, ornately decorated with motifs of flowers, marked with the Aramaic name “Yehosef Bar Qayafa,” or “Joseph son of Caiaphas” in English. Most archaeologists now accept that the tomb was used to bury the first-century high priest Caiaphas and his family, the study said. 

Caiaphas, who is is mentioned several times in both the Christian New Testament and history of the Jews written in the late first century by Flavius Josephus, presided over a sham trial of Jesus for blasphemy, after which Jesus was handed over to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate for execution, according to the Gospel of Matthew. The execution was reportedly carried out on Friday, April 3, 33, when Jesus was nailed to the cross — a common Roman method of capital punishment.

Jerusalem tomb

In the latest study, Shimron and his co-authors compared samples from the two nails with sediments from the ossuaries in the Caiaphas tombstone chests used to hold the bones of people after they had decayed for about a year on a rock shelf. It found that not only did the physical and chemical signatures of the nails and the ossuaries match, but they also seemed to be unique.

For example, the ratios of isotopes of carbon and oxygen — variants of these elements — in both sets of samples suggested they both came from an abnormally humid environment, and they both had significant “flowstone deposits” —– layers of calcite carbonate formed by flowing water.

These findings match the conditions in the Caiaphas tomb, which is located near an ancient aqueduct and often would have been flooded by its overflow. The researchers also found evidence on both the nails and the ossuaries of a specific fungus — an unusual type of yeast — that grows only in very damp conditions and has been found in no other tomb in Jerusalem. “I think the nails came from that tomb,” Shimron said.

Their analysis of the nails with an electron microscope also found slivers of wood on the nails, which they recognized as cedar, and tiny fragments of bone —– unfortunately now fossilized. Those discoveries heightened the possibility that the nails came from crucifixion, but they did not prove it, Shimron said.

Mysterious nails

The IAA says their records show that two iron nails were also found in the Caiaphas tomb — one inside an unmarked ossuary and another on the ground near the ornate ossuary, possibly where it fell when it was disturbed by tomb robbers — but they were later lost. 

The excavator of that tomb suggested they might have been used to scratch inscriptions on the ossuaries, but that idea was never investigated, Shimron said. The new study indicated the nails from Tel Aviv University were indeed those lost from the Caiaphas tomb, despite the IAA’s denial, he said.

According to the theory presented in Jacobovici’s documentary, they might have been buried with Caiaphas because crucifixion nails were thought to be magical — a belief noted in ancient Jewish writings. And because Caiaphas is only known for his role in the crucifixion of Jesus, it’s possible that the nails are linked with that event — although it can only be a supposition, Shimron said. 

Hershkovitz, who still has possession of the two nails, told Live Science he was not convinced by the latest study, but he did not rule out the possibility that the nails came from the Caiaphas tomb. The nails are long enough to have been used on a person’s hands in a crucifixion, and they are bent upward at the end, — perhaps to prevent the hands being lifted off the cross, he said.

But the presence of bone fragments did not prove the nails were from a crucifixion, because bones from the tomb may have stuck to the nails. “Ossuaries are full of human bones,” he said.

Still, “there is a possibility — and we have to keep an open mind for every possibility, as scientists,” Hershkovitz said. 

Gates of Biblical City Unearthed- Site of Jesus Miracle of feeding 5,000

In the last few weeks, local officials in northern Golan Heights in Israel announced a significant discovery by archaeologists. The entrance gate to the great fortified city,  just north of the Sea of Galilee has been excavated, leading some to claim it is additional evidence supporting the site being Bethsaida, the city of three of Jesus’ disciples and associated with his famous miracle of the loaves and fishes. The early phase of the city may also have an intriguing connexion to the Bible’s King David, who reigned around 1000 BC.

The remains of the entrance gate, standing about 10 feet high, were unearthed at a place called et-Tell by the Bethsaida Excavations Project, which just wrapped up its 2018 season. The director is Professor Rami Arav from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, who has excavated the site for nearly 30 years.

“It is the largest and the best preserved city gate [in Israel],” Arav told the Times of Israel. “Likewise, this year’s excavation provides evidence that Bethsaida, an Aramean settlement, houses one of the earliest towers incorporated in city walls in Israel,” he said.

“In the entire archaeology of the Land of Israel from 10-8th century BCE, there are no towers on city walls. Israelites did not have this feature. This is the first example of towers surrounding a city in Israel,” Arav added. This “unusual feature” of guard towers were placed every 20 meters around the city wall.

The gate is believed by archaeologists to have been used from the 11th century BC down to about 920 BC. As reported in the Jerusalem Post, Professor Arav stated, “There are not many gates in this country from this period. Bethsaida was the name of the city during the Second Temple period [during the time of Jesus], but during the First Temple period it was the city of Zer.” Pointing to Joshua 19:35, he continued, “The fortified towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth.”

These were the fortified cities in land allotted to the tribe of Naphtali after the conquest of Canaan. If this was the site of Zer, there should be even older remains, under the current dig levels, from the period of Israel’s conquest of Canaan.

The city of Zer (or “Tzer”) was also possibly the historical capital of Geshur, which at the time of King David was an independent Aramean kingdom just northeast of Israel.

The area may have been referenced in the famous Tel Amarna letters between Pharaoh Akhenaten and city leaders in Canaan. The Bible says one of David’s wives was Maacah the daughter of the king of Geshur, apparently a politically-driven marriage to unify the two kingdoms.

The third [son of David], Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur…

 – 1 Chronicles 3:2 (ESV)

The Times of Israel points out that Maacah (or “Maachah”) was the mother of Absalom, who fled to his mother’s homeland of Geshur after murdering his half-brother (2 Samuel 13:37-38). The close ties between the two kingdoms were renewed when Absalom’s daughter, also named Maacah, married Solomon’s son Rehoboam, king of Judah (1 Kings 14:31-15:2). These facts cause Arav to speculate that King David may have walked through this very gate to claim his bride. He amusingly recounted his impression of the royal courtship in the Time articles:

‘King David entered the gate to meet the king of Geshur to ask for the hand of his daughter. Maachah looked at him like a “hillbilly” mountain guy, but for the sake of inclusion into the Bible, went through with it. “So we’re digging the gate where David entered,” said Arav, laughing.’

In past seasons, evidence from many different periods was found, evidence that this site had significance for millennia. Among the finds was a decorated pottery shard from 300 BC showing the birth of the Greek goddess Athena from the head of her father Zeus. Also found was a rare Roman coin issued in AD 85 by Agrippa II with the phrase “Judea Capta” (or “Judea is captive”), commemorating the crushing of the Jewish rebels and their temple in AD 70.

This year, archaeologists from 20 international institutions joined Arav in the dig sponsored by the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. The size of the site confirms the Bible’s account of the significance of Geshur at the time of David.

The Connection to Jesus

The recent finds also join other archaeological evidence in the debate over whether this really was the site of Bethsaida at the time of Jesus. For nearly thirty years, et-Tell has been designated by Israel as Bethsaida, one of the holiest sites to Christians, but for that entire time, this has long been a disputed issue.

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

 – John 1:44 (ESV)

Bethsaida’s importance in the Gospels can be seen in that it is the third most referenced city after Jerusalem and Capernaum. The Book of John mentions that Bethsaida had been home to the apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip. Other passages make it clear that after his marriage, Peter had moved his family into the house of his mother-in-law in nearby Capernaum.

The majority of Jesus’ Galilean ministry took place in the area around Bethsaida, Capernaum and Chorazin – three cities within three miles of each other near the northeast coast of the Sea of Galilee. Because of confusing descriptions in the Gospel accounts, some scholars have proposed that there were two cities named Bethsaida on the shores of Galilee.

The miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 men plus women and children from five loaves and two fish is said by the Gospel of Luke to have taken place in a wilderness area near the town of Bethsaida.

On their return, the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing… And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. 

– Luke 9:10-11, 16-17 (ESV)

This miracle, along with many others done in the area (including the healing of a blind man in Mark 8:22), is the reason behind Jesus’ stern rebuke for the unbelief of the local population in the chapter following the account of the miraculous feeding.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

 – Luke 10:13 (ESV)

The important place these events have in the Gospels draws throngs of Christians to sites in this area every year. Avi Liberman, director of the Jordan Park in which Bethsaida is located, said, “The staff at the Jordan Park and the Golan Tourism are happy for the tens of thousands of visitors who visit the park every day. The wonderful park is also an impressive archaeological site. I [am] amazed each time by the arrival of thousands of evangelical visitors to Bethsaida. I am confident that the latest discoveries will bring more visitors to the park from around the world and from Israel” reported the Jerusalem Post.

The 6,000-year-old Crown found in Dead Sea Cave

The oldest crown in the world, which is considered to be more than 6000 years old, has been shown for the first time in America. The ancient relic, which dates back to the Copper Age between 4000–3300 B.C., is shaped like a thick ring and features vultures and doors protruding from the top.

It is assumed that the crown engaged in funeral ceremonies of important people at the time. The crown was found in a remote cave in the Judaean Desert near the Dead Sea in 1961 among hundreds of other objects from the period.

Known as the ‘Nahal Mishar Hoard’, more than 400 objects were discovered by Pessah Bar-Adon and his fellow Israeli archaeologists in the cave which became known as the ‘Cave of the Treasure’. 

The pieces included two clay statues of Gods – The Lady and Ram of Gilat – and a full array of Copper Age figurines made from copper, stone, elephant ivory and clay.

There was also a scepter decorated with horned animals, clay goblets and bowls. It has been suggested that the hoard was the sacred treasure belonging to a shrine at Ein Gedi, some twelve kilometers away.

The purpose of the hoard remains a mystery, it may have been to keep them protected in an emergency, although it is believed the objects may have been used in public ceremonies.

Around 150 artefacts from the collection can be seen at New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World as part of the ‘Masters of Fire:

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Daniel M. Master, Professor of Archaeology at Wheaton College and a member of the curatorial team, said: ‘The fascinating thing about this period is that a burst of innovation defined the technologies of the ancient world for thousands of years.

‘People experimented with new ways to use not just copper, but also leather, ceramics, and textiles – sometimes successfully, sometimes not.’

Jennifer Y. Chi, ISAW Exhibitions Director and Chief Curator, added: ‘To the modern eye, it’s stunning to see how these groups of people, already mastering so many new social systems and technologies, still had the ability to create objects of enduring artistic interest.’

The exhibit also features objects from the Peqi’in Cave, another important discovery site.

The most significant finds included are eight ossuaries, or burial containers, for human skeletal remains. Some were designed to look like human faces or figures and all are decorated with red stripes or zigzag patterns.

These ossuaries held the bones of more than one person – the vast majority were men. Those who had their bones stored would have held positions of importance within society.

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3,200-year-old Egyptian built fortress found in Israel

A HUGE fortress dating back to the 12th-century BC has been unearthed in Israel and experts are linking it to a structure described in the Bible.

The Canaanite citadel is said to be similar to a building in the Book of Judges, a section of the Bible that describes intense warfare between groups of Canaanites, Israelites, and Philistines.

The design of the fortress and pottery found there indicate that it belonged to Canaanites who would have lived under Egyptian rule at the time.

Canaanites are often referred to as the ‘lost people’ of the Bible because a lot of what we know about them just comes from ancient texts describing interactions with civilization.

The 3,200-year-old fortress was found in southern Israel. It measures 60 feet by 60 feet and would have been two stories high. There is evidence to suggest it had watchtowers on each corner and a courtyard featuring stone slabs and columns.

The Israeli archaeologists working on the dig think the Canaanites built the structure with help from their Egyptian overlords.

Fortresses like this would have been necessary to try and stay protected from the invading Philistines.

The site contained hundreds of pottery vessels inside the rooms of the courtyard. This included one piece of pottery suspected to be used for religious reasons.

IAA archaeologists Saar Ganor and Itamar Weissbein said: “The fortress we found provides a glimpse into the geopolitical reality described in the Book of Judges, in which the Canaanites, Israelites, and Philistines are fighting each other.

“In this period, the land of Canaan was ruled by the Egyptians and its inhabitants were under their custody.”

Pottery found at the site was similar to the Egyptian style at the time and even the fortress was similar to an Egyptian ‘governor’s houses’. The Egyptians are thought to have left the Canaan area in the middle of the 12th-century BC.

This means the fortress inhabitants would have been left to defend themselves as the area descended into territorial battles. The archaeological site will soon be opened to the public for free tours.

Vast 9,000-year-old ‘metropolis’ discovered buried near Jerusalem

A huge prehistoric settlement dating back 9,000 years unearthed near Jerusalem by Israeli archaeologists during preparations for a new highway could rewrite the history of humans in the region. 

Home to around 3,000 individuals during the Stone Age the settlement, near modern-day Motza, disproves the long-standing theory that humans did not live in Judea at this time and is being called the area’s ‘big bang’ as well as being a ‘game-changer’ for our knowledge of humankind’s settlement of the country. 

The site has revealed large buildings, flint tools, including thousands of arrowheads, axes for chopping down trees, sickle blades, and knives – proving the city was a bustling hub of a complex society.   

It was thought that the area was previously uninhabited and only the other bank of the Jordan river had such vast cities but the site, which covers dozens of acres, has forced them to reconsider all they know about Israeli history. 

According to the Antiquities Authority, this is the first time that such a large-scale settlement from the Neolithic Period is discovered in Israel, and one of the largest of its kind in the region 

Before the discovery, it was widely believed the entire area had been uninhabited in that period, during which people were shifting away from hunting for survival to a more sedentary lifestyle that included farming. 

Jacob Vardi, co-director of the excavations at Motza on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, said: ‘It’s a game-changer, a site that will drastically shift what we know about the Neolithic era.’

‘So far, it was believed that the Judea area was empty and that sites of that size existed only on the other bank of the Jordan river, or in the Northern Levant.

‘Instead of an uninhabited area from that period, we have found a complex site, where varied economic means of subsistence existed, and all these only several dozens of centimeters below the surface.’ 

The archaeological team discovered large buildings, including rooms that were used for living, as well as public facilities and places of ritual.  Between the buildings, alleys were exposed, bearing evidence of the settlement’s advanced level of planning. 

The team also found storage sheds that contained large quantities of legumes, particularly lentils, whose seeds were remarkably preserved throughout the millennia.

‘This is most probably the largest excavation of this time period in the Middle East, which will allow the research to advance leaps and bounds ahead of where we are today, just by the amount of material that we are able to save and preserve from this site,’ Lauren Davis, an archaeologist with Israel’s antiquities authority, told Reuters. 

‘This finding is evidence of the intensive practice of agriculture,’ according to the statement. 

‘Animal bones found on the site show that the settlement’s residents became increasingly specialized in sheep-keeping, while the use of hunting for survival gradually decreased.’

Archaeologists also found evidence of some graves and tombs from a more recent era, dating back 4,000 years.  Two warriors were buried in a tomb with a dagger and a spearhead alongside a donkey which is believed would have been domesticated and intended to serve the warriors in the afterlife. 

Ms. Davis said: ‘There’s also an amazing find, which is a whole donkey, domesticated, that was buried in front of the tomb probably when they sealed it.’ 

Buildings and other architectural remains are being studied using non-invasive scanning techniques which are intended to paint a picture of the settlement when it was in use. 

Much of the physical remnants will be preserved despite the ongoing roadworks for the Route 16 Project, which includes building a new road to Jerusalem from the Route 1 highway at the Motza Interchange to the capital. 

9,000-year-old Neolithic ‘city’ near Jerusalem changes how we think about human evolution

The 9,000-year-old metropolis — pre-dating both Britain’s Stonehenge and ancient Egypt’s pyramids — was uncovered during a survey before the construction of a new highway, which is one of the biggest ever found, the Israel Antiquities Authority said.

The team estimated a population between 2,000 and 3,000 people, which would have constituted a large city for the time.

It covered dozens of hectares near what is today the town of Motza, some five kilometers west of Jerusalem.

Jacob Vardi, co-director of the excavations at Motza on behalf of the authority, told The Times of Israel that the find gives archaeologists their “big bang” moment.

“It’s a game-changer, a site that will drastically shift what we know about the Neolithic era,” Mr. Vardi said.

He explained that the Neolithic period was a time where “more and more” human populations curbed migration and transitioned to permanent settlements.

Site touted as the Middle East’s largest Neolithic find

Before the discovery, it was widely believed the entire area had been uninhabited in that period, during which people were shifting away from hunting for survival to a more sedentary lifestyle that included farming.

“This is most probably the largest excavation of this time period in the Middle East, which will allow the research to advance leaps and bounds ahead of where we are today, just by the amount of material that we are able to save and preserve from this site,” said Lauren Davis, an archaeologist with Israel’s antiquities authority.

The excavation exposed large buildings, alleyways and burial places, evidence of a relatively advanced level of planning, the antiquities authority said in a statement.

The team also found storage sheds that contained large quantities of legumes, particularly lentils, whose seeds were remarkably preserved throughout the millennia.

“This finding is evidence of an intensive practice of agriculture,” the statement read.

“Animal bones found on the site show that the settlement’s residents became increasingly specialized in sheep-keeping, while the use of hunting for survival gradually decreased”.

Also found were flint tools, including thousands of arrowheads, axes for chopping down trees, sickle blades, and knives.

If date estimates are correct, this civilization’s form of agriculture would also pre-date that of Victoria’s Gunditjmara people, who created an elaborate series of channels and pools to harvest eels 6,600 years ago.

A 1,600-year-old cargo of a Roman merchant ship has been discovered in Caesarea

In recent times, divers have discovered some rarity of archaeological artifacts on the bottom of the sea off the coast of Israel in Caesarea.

The objects that seem to have been part of a Roman merchant ship cargo that sank some 1,600 years ago include coins, bronze statues, equipment used in running the ship, such as anchors, and numerous decorative items.

The treasure trove was discovered by accident by two amateur divers from Ra’anana, Ran Feinstein, and Ofer Ra’anan, who were swimming in the ancient harbor.

Upon emerging from the sea, they immediately contacted the Israel Antiquities Authority. Since then, the IAA’s marine archaeology unit has been conducting an underwater excavation of the site, in cooperation with the Rothschild Caesarea Foundation.

Among other finds, the cargo of the ship, which apparently sank in the latter years of the Roman Empire (27 B.C.E. – 476 C.E.), included a bronze lamp depicting the image of the Roman sun god Sol; a figurine of the moon goddess Luna; a lamp resembling the head of an African slave; parts of three life-size bronze statues; a bronze faucet in the form of a wild boar with a swan on its head; and other objects in the shape of animals. Also unearthed were shards of large containers used for carrying drinking water for the ship’s crew.

One of the biggest surprises was the discovery of two metallic lumps each composed of thousands of coins, in the shape of the ceramic vessel in which they were transported before they oxidized and became stuck together.

The coins bear the images of the Constantine, who ruled the Western Roman Empire (312 – 324 C.E.) and was later known as Constantine the Great, ruler of the entire Roman Empire (324 – 337 C.E.), and of Licinius, a rival of Constantine’s who ruled the eastern part of the empire and was slain in battle in the year 324 C.E.  

According to Jacob Sharvit, director of the IAA’s marine archaeology unit, and his deputy Dror Planer, “These are extremely exciting finds, which apart from their extraordinary beauty, are of historical significance.

The location and distribution of the ancient artifacts on the seabed indicate that a large merchant ship was carrying a cargo of metal slated to be recycled, which apparently encountered a storm at the entrance to the harbor and drifted until it smashed into the seawall and the rocks.”

A preliminary study of the iron anchors unearthed at the site suggests that there was an attempt to stop the drifting vessel before it reached shore by casting them into the sea; however, the anchors broke, which constitutes “evidence of the power of the waves and the wind in which the ship was caught up,” say the researchers.

The discovery comes just a year after a trove of over 2,000 gold coins, dating to the Fatimid era about 1,000 years ago, was found nearby by divers and IAA staff. The coins are currently on public display in the Caesarea marina.

“A marine assemblage such as this has not been found in Israel in the past 30 years,” Sharvit and Planer explain. “Statues made of metallic materials are rare archaeological finds because they were always melted down and recycled in antiquity.

When we find bronze artifacts it usually occurs at sea. Because these statues were wrecked together with the ship, they sank in the water and were thus ‘saved’ from the recycling process.”

The archaeologists said the underwater treasures were discovered because of the diminishing amount of sand in the Caesarea harbor as a result of construction along the coastline south of the site, and due to the increased mining of sand – as well as the growing number of amateur divers in the area.

The IAA praised the two amateur divers for their good citizenship in reporting their find and announced that they will accordingly be awarded certificates.

Rare trove of 1,100-year-old gold coins discovered in Israel

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Monday that a rare hoard of 425 gold coins from the Abbasid Caliphate, dating back around 1,100 years ago, was discovered by teenage volunteers at an archaeological excavation in the centre of the country.

The IAA may not have defined the exact location of the place where gold was discovered for obvious reasons.

A group of young people carrying out volunteer work ahead of their mandatory army service found the trove.

“It was amazing. I dug in the ground and when I excavated the soil, saw what looked like very thin leaves,” said teen Oz Cohen. “When I looked again I saw these were gold coins. It was really exciting to find such a special and ancient treasure.”

Excavation directors Liat Nadav-Ziv and Dr Elie Haddad said that it was assumed that whoever buried the coins would have expected they would be able to retrieve the hoard and that the find could point to international trade carried out by the area’s residents.

“Finding gold coins, certainly in such a considerable quantity, is extremely rare.

We almost never find them in archaeological excavations, given that gold has always been extremely valuable, melted down and reused from generation to generation,” the directors said in a statement.

“The coins, made of pure gold that does not oxidize in air, were found in excellent condition as if buried the day before. Their finding may indicate that international trade took place between the area’s residents and remote areas,” the statement read.

Dr Robert Kool, a coin expert at the IAA, said that the total weight of the hoard — around 845 grams of pure gold — would have been a significant amount of money at the end of the 9th century.

“For example, with such a sum, a person could buy a luxurious house in one of the best neighbourhoods in Fustat, the enormous wealthy capital of Egypt in those days,” Kool said, noting that at the time, the region was part of the Abbasid Caliphate, which stretched from Persia to North Africa, with a central seat of government in Baghdad.

“The hoard consists of full gold dinars, but also — what is unusual — contains about 270 small gold cuttings, pieces of gold dinars cut to serve as small change,” Kool said.

He added that one of those cuttings was exceptionally rare and never before found in excavations in Israel — a fragment of a gold solidus of the Byzantine emperor Theophilos (829 – 842 CE), minted in the empire’s capital of Constantinople.

According to the IAA, the existence of the fragment in a trove of Islamic coins serves as evidence of the connections between the two rival empires.

“This rare treasure will certainly be a major contribution to research, as finds from the Abbasid period in Israel are relatively few. Hopefully, the study of the hoard will tell us more about a period of which we still know very little,” Kool said.