The Tyre coin recently discovered at the Tower of David Museum.
(photo credit: TAL ROGOVSKY)
Tyrian shekels are often mentioned in historical accounts from the Second Temple Period, but a very few have actually been found.
In the midst of one of the most comprehensive conservation projects currently taking place in Israel, archeologists in Jerusalem's Old City discovered a Tyre coin, believed to have been used to pay the Temple tax by pilgrims making their way to the Temple for Passover, Shavuot or Sukkot.
The ancient coin was found inside a box of artifacts originally excavated in the 1980s, when the last conservation project took place at the site. The box was somehow lost and only discovered recently as part of a well-needed conservation project currently taking place at the Tower of David Museum.
The box included the rare silver coin, called a “Tyre shekel,” which was used during the Second Temple Period and produced in the ancient city of Tyre, where Tyrian shekels were minted from 125 BCE until the outbreak of the Great Revolt in 66 CE.
The Tower of David Museum, located in the ancient citadel at the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City, will remain open for the general public throughout the year, in accordance with Health Ministry guidelines.
The coin that was recently discovered will be displayed next year in a new and permanent exhibit at the museum.
From an article in The Jerusalem Post Read the rest of the article here
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