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Re: orion Ein-Gedi
In a message dated 98-02-03 14:43:52 EST, you write:
<< Early soundings of the
site in 96/97 suggest that the site was to be dated to at least the first
century CE as two coins were discovered by Hirschfeld, one of which had
been minted during Pontius Pilate's reign, which, according to
Hirschfeld, is very rare. >>
Hirshfield is mistaken if he thinks that coins of Pontius Pilate are very
rare--in fact they are among the commonest ancient coins of all! They sell at
fancy prices in Israel (and elsewhere) because of their association with
Jesus, but they are certainly not rare. However, they WERE out of circulation
by the early 70's, after the Jewish-Roman War. Possibly what was found was a
rare city coin of the TIME of Pontius Pilate, but not one of his issues.
Robert D. Leonard Jr.