The name of Pontius Pilate, the Roman official who ordered the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ
according to Christian scripture, has been
deciphered on a bronze ring discovered some 50 years ago near Bethlehem.
The ancient ring was found in the late 1960s during an archaeological
dig at the site of the Herodion fortress, built by Herod the king of
Judea.
His name was deciphered on the ring after it, and thousands of other
finds, were handed over to the team currently working on the historical
site. Pilate was an infamous Roman governor of Jerusalem in the years 26
to 36 who also allegedly ran Jesus’ trial.
After a thorough
cleansing, the ring was photographed using a special camera at the
Israel Antiquities Authority Labs, revealing the crucial name. The
stamping ring bears a picture of a wine vessel surrounded by Greek
writing that translated into “Pilatus.”
A stamping ring was also a hallmark of status in the Roman cavalry,
to which Pilate belonged. Researchers believe it was either used by
Pilate in his day-to-day work as governor or by his team to sign his
name on official documents.
“I don’t know of any other Pilatus from the period and the ring shows he was a person of stature and wealth,” Professor Danny Schwartz told Haaretz.
Pilatus,
the name linked to Pontius Pilate in the New Testament as the man who
ordered Jesus’ crucifixion, was rare in Israel during that era, says
Schwartz. It’s also not the first find at the site inscribed ‘Pilatus.’
In the 1960s, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Professor Gideon Forester
Forster also unearthed a stone decorated with the name.
Herodian
was built by King Herod and after his death it became a huge burial
site, however Roman officials ruling over Judea used the upper tier as
their administrative headquarters.
Research into the ring was led by Professor Shua Amurai-Stark and Malcha Hershkovitz. They published their findings in the new issue of the Israel Exploration Journal.
Research into the ring was led by Professor Shua Amurai-Stark and Malcha Hershkovitz. They published their findings in the new issue of the Israel Exploration Journal.
RT.com
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