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- List of coins found at Qumran -
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Visit also: http://www.qumran.org/
. A) Distribution of coins found at Qumran
Num
Reign
%
Period
1
John Hyrcanus
0.2 110 - 104 (minted)
1
Aristobulus I
0.2 104 - 102
143 Alexander Jannaeus
31.7 102 -
76
1
Salome/Hyrcanus II 0.2
76
5
Hyrcanus II
1.1
76
4
Antigonus
0.9
37
10
Herod
2.2
37 - 4
16
Archelaus
3.5 4BCE - 6CE
58
Procurators
12.8 6 - 41 & 44 - 54
78
Agrippa I
17.3 41 -
44
46
Nero
10.1 54 - 68
88
War
19.5
67 - 69
-----
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451
99.7
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B) Detailled distribution
(Quotes from de Vaux: "Archaeology and the Dead Sea
Scrolls")
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1. Seleucid coins
Silver: 3 dated from Antiochus VII (138 - 129 BCE) in successive years, starting 132/131 BCE
2 undated, but probably from Antiochus VII
1 undated, maybe from Demetrius II (145 - 139 BCE)
Bronze: 5 dated variously from Antiochus III (223 - 187 BCE), Antiochus IV (175 - 164 BCE), and Antiochus VII
1 undated, probably from Antiochus IV
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2.
Hasmonean coins
1 from John Hyrcanus I (134 - 104, JHyrcI started minting 110 BCE)
1 from Aristobulus I (104 - 103 BCE)
143 from Alexander Jannaeus (103 - 76 BCE)
1 from Alexandra Salome & Hyrcanus II jointly (76 - 67 BCE)
5 from Hyrcanus II (63 - 40 BCE)
4 from Antigonus Mattathias (40 - 37 BCE)
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3.
Herodian coins
10 from Herod (37 - 4 BCE)
16 from Herod Archelaus (4 BCE - 6 CE)
"Actually ten coins of Herod the Great have been identified, but we cannot use them to prove that the buildings of Period Ib were
still occupied at the beginning of his reign for two reasons. First, the place where they were found: they came from mixed levels, where they were associated with later coins. In the
instance most favourable to the theory a coin of Herod was found together with four coins of Alexander Jannaeus, and one Antigonus associated with a group of eight coins of Alexander Jannaeus but also close to a coin of the Procurators. The second point is their date. The coins belonging to Herod's reign, apart from the issues of the third year, which are not represented at Khirbet Qumran, are not dated..." pp22/23
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4. Procuratorial coins (6 - 41 CE)
58
.
5. Agrippa I (41 - 44 CE)
78
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6. Roman: Nero (54 - 68 CE)
33 from level II
13 from level III
9 of Caesaria
4 of Dora
.
7.
Jewish War
83 from year 2 (=67/68 CE)
5 from year 3 (=68/69 CE)
.
8.
Tyrian coins
561 from a hoard found in three pots (223, 185, 153), one of which was made at Qumran. (Locus 120)
"These three pots were buried beneath the level of Period II and above that of Period Ib."
(p34)
Some coins from 136/135 BCE most from after 126/125 BCE
24 shekels and half-shekels minted between 103/102 BCE
and 10/9 BCE
1 Tyrian coin (53/54 CE) found in a lamp with a coin from Caesaria dated 67/68 CE
Note: De Vaux concludes that the hoard was buried between 9/8 BCE and 1 BCE/1 CE.
(Each picture is linked to its source)
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Information from Trench A
Trench A was the location north of the compound where the rubble from the destruction of level Ib was dumped. The following coins
were found there:
1 silver tetradrachm of Antiochus VII (Tyre, 132/131 BCE)
1 tetradrachm of autonomous Tyre currency (before the era)
1 bronze of Antiochus III
1 bronze of Antiochus IV
19 coins from Alexander Jannaeus
1 coin attributed to John Hyrcanus (probably Hyrcanus I, no evidence for Hyrcanus II using
the name John Hyrcanus)
1 coin of Herod Archelaus
Regarding this last coin, de Vaux says "It is reasonable to suppose that this was lost during the clearance." p36