Israeli archaeologists today announced the discovery of a 2000-year-old rare stone monument engraved with an official Latin inscription, that may finally explain the mystery behind the Jewish revolt.
The stone fragment was discovered recently during salvage excavations north of the Damascus Gate by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).
The large stone bears a six-line-long Latin inscription dedicated to the Roman Emperor Hadrian and mentions the year of his visit to the holy city of Jerusalem in 129/30 CE, just years before the Jewish rebellion that lead to their exodus from the country.
The intervening period between the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (70 CE) and prior to the Bar Kokhba Jewish revolt (132-136 CE) has been of tremendous interest to historians as it holds the key to the causes behind the revolt.
"This is an extraordinary find of enormous historical importance," IAA archaeologist Rina Avner was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel.
"There is no doubt that the discovery of this inscription will contribute greatly to the long-standing question about the reasons that led to the outbreak of the Bar Kochba revolt," Avner added.
