Current Issue
Past Issues
Editoral Policy
About Us
Guide to Contributors
Call for Papers
Submission
'Atiqot 112 (2023)
ISBN 2948-040X
A Hoard of Ptolemaic Coins found in Murabba‘at Cave II in the Judean Desert
(pp. 53-92)
Eitan Klein, Gabriela Bijovsky, Amir Ganor, Hagay Hamer, Oriya Amichay, Chaim Cohen, Esther Eshel, Mark Cavanagh, Dafna Langgut, Eitan Kremer, Yigal Sitry and Naama Sukenik
Keywords: Hoard, Ptolemy VI, Wood Pyxis, Coins, Purse
Murabba‘at Cave II is situated in the cliffy area on the northern bank of Naḥal Darga, about 2 km west of the Dead Sea. It is a complex cave formed by the dissolution of Shivṭa-Formation limestone below the water table. Its total length is approximately 90 m and it has three levels. Previous excavations have shown the cave to be one of the richest in the Judean Desert in terms of finds from various periods. Among the many finds was an ancient wooden box containing a Ptolemaic coin-hoard from the reign of Ptolemy VI, which was discovered in a crevice near a shaft leading down to the interior cavities. This article presents and discusses the hoard, a typical emergency hoard, with all its components, while considering its geographical-historical context. Several possible historical events may have led to the hoard’s deposition, mainly the Sixth Syrian War and the Maccabean Revolt.