Very interesting indeed, as it might tell us whether the shekels of Tyre, with Melkart's image, were stilll accepted by the rebel authorities.
Sadly, I doubt that your curiosity will be satisfied,
Robert. I don’t think the coins are newly excavated – it’s only putting them on display that’s new. And the Davidson Centre (where the exhibition is being held) is fairly new also. But if this
collection could prove the acceptability of
Tyrian shekels during the rebellion, that information would probably already be public.
Anyway, it’s not clear from these brief reports where the coins were originally found. I’m not aware of any coins excavated from the Temple Mount proper (I mean the
Herodian platform, where almost no archaeology is allowed these days). And if the coins came from the excavations in the
area below the south-west corner, well then any links to the Temple might be problematic. In the first century there was a street with ordinary shops running along the base of Robinson’s arch.
Bill R
