Israel Today

MembersRare Hoard of Coins in Modi’in

The search for the ancient Hasmonean city of Modi’in has been ongoing for decades with many archaeological finds being discovered including a settlement and monastery from the Byzantine Period (324-640 AD).

Ariel Rudolph

Jul 3, 2016 at 2:28 pm

The city plays an important role in Jewish history because it was home to the Maccabees of the Hasmonean Dynasty, the heroes of the Hanukkah story.

Now archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have made another important discovery: a hoard of silver coins dating to the Hasmonean Period in the second century BC. The treasure was hidden in a rock crevice, up against a wall of an impressive agricultural estate from that era.

Israel Today went on an IAA tour of the site, near the modern city of Modi’in, to get a first-hand look. The excavation is located on the highest hill in the area, about 200 meters from a Second Temple Period (530 BC- 70 AD) synagogue unearthed during earlier excavations.

“This rare cache of silver coins from the Hasmonean Period is comprised of shekels and half-shekels [tetradrachms and didrachms] minted in the city of Tyre [in today’s Lebanon] and bear the images King...

Become a Member

Read all member content

Get exclusive in-depth reports from Israel.
Get exclusive in-depth reports from Israel

Connect with Israel, right from your home.
Lift up the voice of truth and hope

Support Jerusalem-based Zionist journalism.