An 11-year-old girl discovered a rare 2000-year-old silver coin in Jerusalem

During an archeological excavation that came from excavations in the City of David, 11-year-old Liel Krotokop of Petah Tikva discovered a shekel coin made of pure silver.

Scholars believe that the coin was produced from the many money reserves that were in the Second Temple

Ziv Reinstein

23/11/2021

Tuesday, 23 November 2021, 08:52 Updated: 10:06

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11-year-old Liel Krotokop found a 2000-year-old silver coin (Photo: Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority)

A shekel made of pure silver, which was used for trade in Jerusalem about 2000 years ago, during the Second Temple period, was discovered in Jerusalem by 11-year-old Liel Krotokop from Petah Tikva.

The weight of the coin is about 14 grams.

On one side is a description of a trophy with the caption: "Shekel Yisrael" and next to the trophy are the letters: SB - which express the words "Second year" - the second year of the great revolt of the Jews against the Romans (67-68 CE).

On the other side of the coin is a description identified by scholars as the headquarters of the High Priest, and next to it appear in ancient Hebrew script the words: "Holy Jerusalem."

According to Dr. Robert Cole, head of the Antiquities Authority's coin branch: "This is a rare find, since out of many thousands of coins discovered to date in archeological excavations, only about 30 coins are coins made of silver, from the period of the Great Revolt."

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The silver coin with a trophy with the caption: "Israel Shekel" and the letters: Shabbat (second year of the revolt) (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)

The girl Liel Krotokop and the 2000-year-old silver coin she found (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Yaniv Berman)

The coin was discovered in dirt that came from archeological excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority on the "Pilgrim Road," in the City of David National Park.

According to archaeologist Ari Levy, one of the directors of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "On this street, which connected the Shiloah Pool in the south of the City of David to the Temple Mount in the north, and was the main street of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, thousands of pilgrims walked on their way to the Temple." "Very extensive trade. This is evidenced by the many weights and bronze coins we found here. But to find a rebel coin made of pure silver, it is definitely special and exciting."

Dr. Cole estimates that the money from which the coin was made came from the many money reserves in the Temple, and that it was minted on the Temple Mount plaza - possibly by one of the priests, who worked in coordination with the rebel leaders and helped them. Where else could one find money in such quantity and such high quality in those days? Only in the temple. "If so, we can say with caution that this coin is probably one of the only items we can hold today that originated in the Temple itself."

"Everyone is familiar with the Titus Gate in Rome and the descriptions of loot taken from the temple that appear on it, but not many are familiar with the ancient inscription uncovered by the researcher Géza Alföldy from which one can learn about the huge silver reserves that were in the temple," adds Dr. Amit Ram, director of the Jerusalem area at the Israel Antiquities Authority. "Command the construction of this new theater amphitheater (the Colosseum) from its share of the spoils." Try to imagine the extent of the spoils and the amounts of money the Romans found in the temple warehouses. "

The silver coin alongside a charred coin burned in the destruction of Jerusalem (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Yaniv Berman)

Silver coin with a trophy with the caption: "Shekel Yisrael" and the letters: Shabbat (second year of the revolt) (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)

As part of the excavation, the archaeological dirt was sent for wet filtration in the Zurim Valley National Park, and the person who was privileged to discover the find was 11-year-old girl Liel Krotokop, who came with her parents and sister to the filtration activity. "We poured the bucket with the dirt on the strainer, and as we sifted through the stones that were inside, I saw something round," this is how the girl described the moving moments of exposing the rare find. "At first I did not know what it was, but it looked different from all the other stones. My father brought it to one of the facts, and she showed it to an archaeologist. He looked at it and said it was a silver coin that needed to be cleaned. I was very excited." According to the girl, "When I got to the Tzurim Valley I thought there would probably be simple coins in the buckets, but I did not think I would find a coin myself, and certainly not such a coin rare from pure silver. I was lucky to find it, but I also want to say thank you to my sister for choosing The bucket we filtered, and if she had not chosen this particular bucket, I probably would not have found the coin. "

The coin, which was sent to the laboratories of the Israel Antiquities Authority, underwent a chemical process for cleaning, and recently, upon completion of the process, the significance of the find became clear.

According to Dr. Cole, “A currency is a sign of sovereignty. If you go into rebellion, you use one of the most obvious symbols of the independence claim, and you mint coins. The inscription on the coin clearly expresses the rebels' aspirations. "He said," The choice to use ancient Hebrew script, which was no longer in use at the time, is not accidental. The use of this scripture came to express the longing of the people of the period for the days of David and Solomon and the days of the United Kingdom - days when the people of Israel had full independence in the land. "

According to Eli Escozido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority: "I was happy to see the excitement and curiosity that gripped Liel's girl when finding the rare coin. It has an activity on minting coins, and will share with all its members the findings and its importance. "

The rare coin will be presented to the general public during the Hanukkah days at Emek Tzurim National Park in Jerusalem.

In the City of David and the Nature and Parks Authority, the public is invited to come and participate in the screening activity in the "archeological experience" that takes place there.

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