Ancient coins from Hasmonean kingdoms, Jewish revolts seized after suspected smuggling |
A collection of dozens of ancient coins was seized after a suspected smuggling attempt from the West Bank into Israel last month, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Monday.
Most of the coins date back approximately 2,000 years. Some were minted by Hasmonean kings (in the second or first centuries BCE), others by Jewish rebels during the Great Jewish Revolt (66-73 CE) or the Bar Kochba Revolt (132-136 CE). The collection also includes many Roman coins.
Amir Ganor, the director of the IAA’s theft prevention unit, says that looters use sophisticated metal detectors to find ancient coins and take them from antiquities sites — and from their historical context.
“It is important to understand that every ancient coin has tremendous value for the study of the country’s past when found in situ and within its archaeological context,” Ganor said. “Once a coin is looted and removed… the ability to reconstruct the past through it is irreversibly lost.”
According to the IAA statement, the coins were found in the car of a Palestinian doctor who works in an Israeli hospital, during an inspection as he crossed into Israel at the Hizma checkpoint just north of Jerusalem on February 20.
As Border Police officers checked the vehicle, they found the coins in a small box and called the IAA. The driver was taken in by the police for questioning and is suspected of attempted antiquities smuggling from the West Bank into Israel.
“Some of the coins were cleaned by unskilled hands, causing irreversible damage, while others, which may have been excavated recently, have not yet been cleaned,” said Ilan Hadad, IAA inspector in charge of antiquities commerce.
“In my assessment, the coins were intended to be sold in Israel to parties engaged in the illegal antiquities trade or to collectors holding antiquities from dubious sources, and it is possible that some would have made their way to auction houses abroad,” he added. “We intend to carry out further investigative actions in order to trace the source of the coins and their intended destination.”
Among the most notable coins seized are pure silver shekels from years 2 and 3 of the Great Revolt, bearing the ancient Hebrew inscriptions “Shekel of Israel” and “Jerusalem the Holy.” Bronze coins from year 4 bearing an image of the four species used during the festival of Sukkot were also found in the box.
Other bronze coins feature the name of the later revolt’s leader, Shimon (Bar Kokhba). On the reverse, they carry the inscription “Year Two of the Freedom of Israel.”
“In recent years, thousands of metal detectors have flooded the State of Israel without supervision,” said Ganor. “Some individuals are tempted to use these devices to search for treasures at antiquities sites — an illegal act prohibited by law. Unfortunately, the coins seized this week were, according to suspicion, looted for financial gain, removed from their context, and we will never know to which archaeological site or historical narrative they once belonged.”
“The State of Israel must restrict by law the marketing and sale of metal detectors, which are used as destructive tools through which entire chapters of history are erased,” he added.
A special exhibition showcasing looted artifacts seized in Israel over the decades is currently on display at the IAA’s Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Jerusalem. The building includes protected spaces, and tours can be booked on the IAA website in accordance with the Home Front Command’s instructions.
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archaeology in Israel
archaeology in the West Bank
IAA Israel Antiquities Authority