A bronze coin minted by Jews in Jerusalem during the final year before the Second Temple's destruction, in the closing stages of the Great Revolt against the Romans, has been uncovered in excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority, in collaboration with the City of David and the Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Quarter, at the Jerusalem Archaeological Garden – Davidson Center. The rare coin, discovered near the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount, north of the City of David, bears the words in ancient Hebrew script "for the redemption of Zion."
According to Esther Rakow-Mellet, archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority, "In the last few days, an unexpected gift was discovered: Yaniv David Levy, our coin researcher, came here and to his great surprise found a coin, covered in dirt. Already then, we thought from the looks of it that it might be a rare coin. We waited anxiously for several days until it came back from cleaning, and it turned out that it was a greeting from the Jewish rebels in the Year Four of the Great Revolt."
According to Yanniv David Levy, a researcher and curator in the coin department of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The coin is made of bronze, and its state of preservation is quite good. On its obverse side you can see a model of a goblet, and around it is an inscription in ancient Hebrew script: 'LeGe'ulat Zion', 'For the Redemption of Zion'. On its reverse is a lulav, a palm frond used in the Sukkot festival ritual. Next to it are two etrogs, the citron used in that same ritual. The reverse bears the inscription: 'Year Four'." This inscription denotes the number of years since the outbreak of the rebellion and allows us to accurately date the coin to the period between the Hebrew month of Nissan (March-April) of the year 69 CE, and the month of Adar (February-March) of the year 70 CE.
According to Levy, "The 'Year Four' bronze coins differ from their predecessors. Their size and weight increased significantly, and the earlier rebel coin inscription, 'For the Freedom (Herut) of Zion', is replaced by a new inscription – 'For the Redemption of Zion'.
Research accepts the assumption that "year four of the Great Revolt" coins were minted in Jerusalem under the leadership of Shimon Bar Giora, who was one of the prominent commanders in the final year of the revolt. Coins from this year are considered relatively rare, and the vast majority of them were discovered in Jerusalem and its surroundings.
According to Dr. Yuval Baruch, excavation director for the Israel Antiquities Authority and one of the site's researchers for about 25 years, "The inscription on the coin – 'For the Redemption of Zion,' replacing the earlier 'For the Liberation of Zion' – indicates a profound change of identity and mindset, and perhaps also reflects the desperate situation of the rebel forces about six months before the fall of Jerusalem on Tisha B'Av, the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av; in August of the year 70 CE. It would seem that in the rebellion's fourth year, the mood of the rebels now besieged in Jerusalem changed from euphoria and anticipation of freedom at hand, to a dispirited mood and a yearning for redemption. It is also possible that the representatives of the ritual "Four Species' depicted on the coin, which are symbols of the Sukkot Festival and the ritual national pilgrimage to the Temple, were intended to evoke among the rebels a sense of redemption and anticipation of a hoped-for miracle and happy times.
In the excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority at this location for the sixth season, numerous findings and building remains dating from the Second Temple period to the Umayyad period are being uncovered. The excavations are carried out with funding from the Shalem Project and the City of David Association.
