TE'OMIM CAVE (A)

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Location

City

Zanoah [זנוח ;زنواح]

County

Jerusalem [ירושלים ;القُدس]

Region

Country

Israel

Lat/Long/Alt

31.726233729437 / 35.020295136245 / 0 view

Location details

Centred on field

Find spot comment

"The Te'omim Cave is a karst (natural) cave located on the northern bank of Nahal Hameʽara, on the western edge of the Jerusalem hills" (Zissu et al. 2011, 262).

Information

7594

Permalink

https://chre.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/hoard/7594

Hoard name

TE'OMIM CAVE (A)

Alternative names

Mu ̆ghâret Umm et Tûeimîn, Me'arat HaTeomim, Nahal Ha-Me'ara, Me‘arat Ha-Te’omim, Cave of the Twins, Nahal Hame‘ara

Data type

Hoard

Date of discovery (from)

2009

Total number of coins

Summary

The hoard comprised 83 silver coins from the Second Jewish Revolt dated between AD 132-135/6.

Details
Coins Summary
Coins
Rating
Archaeological context
Containers
Objects
References
Reports
Images
Credit

Discovery method

Controlled archaeological investigation
Land Use

Cave
Disposition

Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA 135089-135171)
Finder(s)

B. Zissu, R. Porat, B. Langford and A. Frumkin (Bar Ilan and Hebrew University)
Comment

"[Hoard A] included 83 silver coins restruck by the Bar Kokhba administration and a fragment of silver jewelry (A85). These coins were found stuck together, apparently because they had been kept in a pocket or case made of some organic material that did not survive. The coins show little signs of wear" (Zissu et al. 2011, 268-9). "The value of Hoard A was 153 zuzim. Hoard A is the largest Bar Kokhba silver coin hoard discovered to this time in recorded, licensed archaeological excavations" (Zissu and Hendin 2012, 217). "It is, of course, possible that the owners of Hoard A deliberately converted all of their money into Bar Kokhba coins for nationalistic reasons. If that was the case, then one might suggest that the owners of Hoards B and C were more cautious, and deliberately retained some of their savings in Roman and provincial coinage which, presumably, could be traded more easily with non-Judaean merchants. In other words, the overstriking of the Bar Kokhba coins was probably a large-scale administrative issue, and not a matter of individual families taking coins to be re-struck by the rebels’ mint" (Zissu and Hendin 2012, 222).
Closing reign (earliest)

Uncertain (non Roman)
Terminal year (earliest)

132
Closing reign (latest)

Uncertain (non Roman)
Terminal year (latest)

136
Opening year (earliest)

132
Opening year (latest)

136
Coin-level data

Not available

Fetching coin data

Numismatic rating

Fair
Context rating

Excellent
Findspot rating

Excellent

Date of excavation (from)

2009
Date of excavation (to)

2011
Natural features

Cave
Site comment

"The southern edges of hall F, near the openings of the passages leading into it, are slightly higher than its centre; they are also dryer, and the dryness helped preserve the archaeological finds in this part of the cave. Large fragments of two or three storage jars (b. 100 and 101) were found on the southern edge of the chamber, and nearby, inside a hole in the rock, a group of coins were found in situ (Hoard A)...nearby, on a fragment of a storage jar lying on the surface, a bronze coin of the city of Ashkelon from the days of Hadrian was discovered. About two metres north of there, fragments of a storage jar (b. 102), fragments of a Judean (‘Darom’) oil lamp (b. 505), and the lower portion of a candlestick-shaped glass bottle (b. 103) were found" (Zissu et al. 2011, 268-9). Two other hoards (Hoard B and Hoard C) were also discovered in the cave complex. The cave was a refuge for fighters in the Bar Kokhba Revolt (AD 132-135/6), as shown by the coins and weaponry deposited.
Date of context (from)

132
Date of context (to)

136
Recovery method

Excavation
Site class

Rural