Archaeologists discover ancient Roman inscription that could explain mystery of Jewish revolt

Israeli archaeologists have announced the discovery of a stone with Latin engravings outside Jerusalem's old city. The stone, which was discovered in July and unveiled Tuesday, supports the idea that Jewish people revolted against Rome because the Romans treated them with cruelty.

The Bar Kochba Revolt (also known as the second Jewish revolt) occurred roughly 2,000 years ago, three years after the Roman emperor Hadrian visited Jerusalem in 129 C.E. The Bar Kochba revolt in the second century C.E. is described by Cassius Dio, a Roman historian. The stone suggests that Hadrian's visit is indeed correlated to the revolt: Israel's Antiquities Authority said that the stone's engraving includes Hadrian's name.

Hadrian persecuted the Jewish people during his rule, attempting to force them to abandon Judaism. Historians have long debated the reason for the Jewish revolt, but the inscription suggests that Hadrian's dictates may be to blame.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Israel's Antiquities Authority said that the stone is "among the most important Latin inscriptions ever discovered in Jerusalem," The Jerusalem Post reports. The archaeologists determined that the stone is the other half of an inscription first discovered in the 19th century; the corresponding stone is on display at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Museum. The findings about the inscription will be formally presented at a conference Thursday at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.