Summary: A hoard of 1,650-year-old coins were uncovered in a public building in Lod which was destroyed during the last Jewish revolt against Roman rule.
“I will lay your cities waste and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing aromas. And I myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled at it.” – Lev. 26:31-32 (ESV)
Jewish Public Building Destroyed in Lod
Many have heard of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in AD 70. Fewer are familiar with the Bar Kokhba revolt in Israel that resulted in even larger numbers of Jewish deaths from AD 132-135. Now, for the first time, physical evidence has been found from the last Jewish resistance against Roman rule, the Gallus Revolt, more than two centuries after Bar Kokhba. Many connect these violent events with prophecies made by Moses about the history of Israel; in fact a series of prophecies that may continue up to the present day.
The artifacts were discovered at Lod, a site located in central Israel about 10 miles southeast of Tel-Aviv. The recent “dramatic” discovery provides valuable historical insight about Jewish life in the ancient Roman era of Israel, officials said. On June 16, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the exciting discoveries from the Lod excavation.
Archaeologists uncovered a hoard of coins buried within the remains of a “destroyed Jewish public building” that once stood in Syria Palaestina, or Roman Palestine, explained the IAA.
“Among the various finds in the building were impressive stone and marble artifacts, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin inscriptions, and one inscription bearing the name of a Jewish man from a priestly family, which is still being studied,” said the IAA.
“These inscriptions, coupled with the complete absence of pig bones from the bone assemblage uncovered in this site, attest to this building’s association with the Jewish community.” Pigs were considered unclean by Jewish law because of passages like Leviticus 11:7-8 and Deuteronomy 14:8, so not only did Jews totally abstain from pig meat, they did not even touch their carcasses.
Coins from the Gallus Revolt
The excavation on Nordau Street in Lod was led by the IAA and funded by the Lod Municipality. During the dig, a building from the Late Roman—Early Byzantine period that had suffered a violent destruction was discovered. Buried within its foundations archaeologists unearthed 94 silver and bronze coins dating between AD 221- 354.
“The latest coins are dated from the time of the Gallus Revolt (AD 351-354),” the IAA statement explained. “Though written evidence is sparse regarding this revolt, there are texts reporting that major Jewish communities such as Lod, Zipori, and Tiberias were destroyed by the forces of Roman Caesar Flavius Constantius Gallus.”
The treasure was purposely hidden during the revolt, said the researchers. “[The coins] were deliberately placed there – in the hopes of returning to collect them when the situation would calm.”
A Violent End
Regarding the unearthed building, IAA site excavators Shahar Krispin and Mor Viezel said in a joint statement: “In all likelihood, this is a magnificent Jewish building that housed the city’s elders. From Talmudic writings, we know that Lod was a most significant Jewish center in the aftermath of the Second Temple’s destruction in Jerusalem. Some renowned ‘Sages of Lod’ are Rabbi Eliezer ben Horkanos, Rabbi Tarfon, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Yosi HaGalili, and many more.”
“This building, destroyed down to its very foundation, is a clear indication that the revolt was forcefully put down with violence and cruelty, and was not simply a local uprising event, as some earlier studies contended,” they said. “This is the singular witness, thus far, to the extent and power of this revolt in Lod, located in the country’s center.”
The mayor of Lod, Yair Revivo, called the discovery “very emotionally moving.” “[It is] another link in the chain of Lod’s Tannaitic period heritage as host to the authors of the Mishna, and to Lod’s Jewish history,” the mayor said. “The finds in the area prove that Lod is one of the oldest cities in the world.”
Professor Joshua Schwartz of the IAA Council noted that the discovery also poses additional questions. “It is difficult to determine if this magnificent building served as synagogue, study hall, meeting hall of the elders, or all three of these functions as one,” Schwartz explained.
“But what is clear is that the building’s size, the coin hoard, and the assemblage of archaeological finds produced by the excavation, fit well Lod/Diospolis’ description in both Jewish and non-Jewish sources as a center of Torah – true Jewish life in the Mishna and Talmud periods,” said Schwartz.
“Lod’s role as a leading community with elders continued from after the destruction though to this moment when it was cruelly cut down in the Gallus Revolt,” he continued.
Moses’ Prophecies of Destruction
At the end of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses gave the Israelites warnings about the curses that would come upon them if they broke the covenant – and the blessings they would receive if they obeyed God’s commands.
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” – Deuteronomy 30:19-20
Later prophets would take up the warnings, calling Israel to return to the covenant from which they had strayed. However, Moses made it clear that they would, in fact, break the covenant (Deut. 31:29), with the consequences that Israel would be destroyed as a nation, scattered to the ends of the earth, uniquely persecuted, yet one day God would bring them back to the land.
History reveals that these prophecies did come to pass, and many believe the Roman destructions of Judea (in several waves of violence) are part of that pattern. The Romans not only defeated the Jewish resistance, they completely destroyed Jerusalem’s Temple down to the last stone, and sold into slavery most of the Jewish population that wasn’t killed, scattering them across the empire.
As part of their effort to erase Jewish connection to the land, they changed the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina and also changed the name of their province of Judea to Syria Palaestina, with “Palaestina” (or Palestine) being an earlier historical name for the region where the Philistines (Israel’s arch enemies) lived.
The evidence from Lod would pertain to the final aftershock of those momentous destruction from the early centuries of the first millennium. Our next Patterns of Evidence film, The Israel Dilemma, will be exploring the debate around these prophecies and the historical evidence related to them.
Stunning Lod Mosaic
Another important previous find from the land of Lod is a stunning Roman-era seafaring mosaic discovered accidentally during salvage excavations in 1996, under a central city square. In 2015, another section of the mosaic was uncovered under a large Roman villa from the Byzantine era. And yet again, a third section was found in 2018 during construction of a museum.
The richly colorful mosaic dates from the late 3rd to early 4th centuries and is now housed in the Shelby White & Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center near Ben Gurion Airport.
The mosaic is one of the most beautiful treasures of the Roman-era Holy Land. It is made up of several panels that cover approximately 1,940 square feet. Among the colorful illustrations depicted on the mosaic are boats with oars, and animals including elephants, lions, birds, fish, and crustaceans. There is also plant life and flowers, vases and geometric patterns.
A combination of mosaics, artifacts and architectural evidence found during the excavation point to Mediterranean luxury that was characteristic of the Roman Empire, said IAA archaeologist Amir Gorzalczany.
Conclusion
“The impressive finds uncovered here reinforce our responsibility to investigate and to conserve Lod’s history and rich heritage,” said IAA Director Eli Escusido. “Along with the city’s new exhibition center of the beautiful Lod mosaic, we now bring this building to the general public’s awareness.”
“We thank the Israel Antiquities Authority for revealing our city’s past glory. I believe that now that [the public Jewish building] is uncovered, this site will bring many tourists and visitors to the city,” said the Mayor of Lod, Yair Revivo. “Lod is connected to its past and is looking forward to a bright future.”
The finds at Lod also connect to a greater historical context outlined by the prophets in the Bible. These prophecies connect to events happening up to our own time – and into the future, reminding us to examine closely the words of Scripture.
The fascinating artifacts from the recent discovery were open to the general public on June 20th at the annual Central Israel Region Archaeological Conference, which was held in the Eretz Yisrael Museum in Tel Aviv and jointly hosted by Tel Aviv University, Bar Ilan University, and the IAA.
Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: Excavators found a hoard of 94 coins that are roughly 1,650 years old in a “dramatic” discovery in the city of Lod, that provides invaluable historical knowledge about Jewish life in the ancient Roman era of Israel. (credit: Dafna Gazit/IAA)
