The Israel Numismatic Society

Small Change in
Hellenistic-Roman Galilee
The Evidence from Numismatic Site Finds as a Tool for
Historical Reconstruction

Danny Syon

Employing spatial analysis of coin inds, related numismatic understandings, and

of the controversial issues about irst-century Galilee.

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Galilee will ind this book an important addition to their bookshelf. 
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 

  
 NUMISMATIC STUDIES AND RESEARCHES
VOLUME XI

Small Change in
Hellenistic-Roman Galilee

The Evidence from Numismatic Site Finds as

a Tool for Historical Reconstruction

Danny Syon

Jerusalem 2015
Numismatic Studies and Researches Volume XI
Published by the Israel Numismatic Society

Text Editor: Susan Holzman

Typesetting: Michal Semo-Kovetz and Yael Bieber

Tel Aviv University Graphic Design Studio

Printed at Elinir, Tel Aviv

CJ1088.G2S9 2015
737.4(9)

ISBN 978-965-555-801-2

© The author and The Israel Numismatic Society, Jerusalem 2015

Website: www.ins.org.il

Cover design and photos: Danny Syon

Cover:
Map of Thomas Fuller, London, 1650. Original at the National Maritime Museum, Haifa.
Rare coin of Agrippa I, mint of Paneas. Found at Gamla.
 Table of ConTenTs

List of figures 9
List of tabLes 13
foreWord 17
aCKnoWLedgements 18
Chapter1: introduCtion 21
Why Galilee? 21
The use of names 23
How this book is organized 24
Chapter 2: history of researCh 25

PART ONE: NUMISMATIC, HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL

PERSPECTIVES 29
Chapter3: the interpretation of Coin finds 31
Coin supply, use and circulation in antiquity 32
From money to buried object 36
From buried object to artifact 38
From artifact to knowledge 38
Problems speciic to Galilee 42
How long were coins in circulation? 44
Circulation studies 47
Conclusions 48
Chapter4: gaLiLee: a numismatiC surVey 50
The geographical boundaries of the study 50
Chronological and numismatic survey 52
The Persian period and Alexander the Great (6–4th centuries BCE) 53
Period 1: The Ptolemaic Period (c. 301–200 BCE) 54
Period 2: The Seleukid Period (200–125 BCE) 55
Period 3. The Hasmonean Period (125–63 BCE) 57
Period 4. The Early Roman Period I (63 BCE–70 CE) 62
6 Small Change in Hellenistic-Roman Galilee

Roman Coinage 63
Local Coinages 64
The First Jewish Revolt and its effect 67
The Tyrian sheqel: Its rise and demise 70
Period 5. The Early Roman Period II (70–138 CE) 72
Period 6. The Middle Roman Period (138–260 CE) 73
Chapter 5: some aspeCts of gaLiLee in Current sChoLarship 77
The boundary between Galilee and Phoenicia 77
Period 1. The Ptolemaic Period (c. 301–200 BCE) 78
Period 2. The Seleukid Period (200–125 BCE) 79
Period 3. The Hasmonean Period (125–63 BCE) 79
Period 4. The Early Roman Period I (63 BCE–70 CE) 81
Periods 5 and 6. The Early Roman Period II and the Middle Roman
Period (70–260 CE) 84
Points of contact between Galilee, Phoenicia and Syria 85
Historical sources 85
The Archaeology of Difference 87
Jewish Galilee and Golan 95

PART TWO: COIN CIRCULATION IN GALILEE 103

Chapter 6: sourCes and methods 105
Source of the numismatic material 105
Presentation method 106
List of sites 108
Control Sites 130
Chapter 7: period 1: the ptoLemaiC period (300–200 bCe) 134
Chapter 8: period 2: the seLeuKid period (200–125 bCe) 139
Period 2a: 200–162 BCE 141
Discussion 142
Period 2b: 162–125 BCE 142
Was there a Jewish presence in Galilee before the Hasmoneans? 145
Chapter 9: period 3: the hasmonean period (125–63 bCe) 151
Discussion 152
Tyre 152
‘Akko-Ptolemais 154
Sidon 154
Table of Contents 7

Hasmonean coins 155

Some anomalies 159
When was the beginning of Jewish settlement in Golan and
Galilee in the Hasmonean Period? 161
The episode of Ptolemy IX Lathyros 165
Chapter 10: period 4: the earLy roman period i (63 bCe–70 Ce) 171
Discussion 172
Jewish Coins 174
Antipas and Philip 177
The chōra of Bet She’an-Skythopolis 179
The boundaries of Galilee 181
Trade 183
Markets and fairs 185
The First Jewish Revolt 186
Provincial and autonomous coins 190
Nabatean coins 192
Roman coins 193
Control sites 193
The Galilee of Jesus 195
Chapter 11: period 5: the earLy roman period ii (70–138 Ce) 200
Discussion 202
Agrippa II 203
The mints of Tiberias and Ẓippori 204
Other mints 207
Roman republican and imperial coins 209
Render unto Caesar… 213
Chapter 12: period 6: the middLe roman period (138–260 Ce) 219
Discussion 224
Markets and fairs, again 227
Chapter 13: settLement dynamiCs 235
Chapter 14: ConCLuding remarKs 244
abbreViations 246
referenCes 248
indiCes 280
Foreword 17

foreword

This book is an expanded and updated version of Part III of my doctoral dissertation,
entitled Tyre and Gamla: The Monetary Inluence of Southern Phoenicia on Galilee
(Syon 2004). The original stimulus leading to this topic was the fact that when I took
over the numismatic work at the Gamla excavations from David Eidlin in 1987, I was
bafled by the enormous number of Tyrian coins found at the site, which I could not
explain (and admittedly still cannot).1 Part of the answer lies in the fact that Galilee
was somehow in the economic sphere of Tyre at times, and this has been stated in
past works. Recent research has often relied on those past studies to repeat the same
statements, but relating to the wrong periods. In the course of my work at the Israel
Antiquities Authority (IAA), studying coins from excavations in Galilee, the questions
concerning the circulation of Phoenician—mainly Tyrian—coinages in Galilee took
on a new dimension, prompting me to extend the questions to all Galilee and Golan
and to all mints of southern Phoenicia.
However, when I began collecting data for my dissertation in 1995, and started
arranging the coin distribution data on maps, patterns emerged that I had not anticipated,
especially concerning the Jewish settlement in Galilee from the Hasmonean period
onward. These patterns caused me to formulate new questions, which took my work
in new directions. Since it was impractical to change my dissertation topic, the focus
there remained the cities of Tyre, Sidon and ‘Akko-Ptolemais, but I made a mental
note to look at things differently should I decide to publish my dissertation.
Since then, a wealth of new material has become available, as well as many new
archaeological and historical studies about Galilee. In addition, while preparing my
paper for the Judaea and Rome in Coins conference in London in 2010 (Syon 2012), I
realized that the Roman period, which I had previously lumped together as the period
70–270 CE, can be very beneicially split into two distinct periods. Thus, this book is
part III of my dissertation, taken apart and reassembled in a different way, including
many more sites, a higher resolution of periods and new insights. The material has
been updated until the end of 2013.
The main difference (and I think the most meaningful one), between this study
and most other coin distribution and coin circulation studies is that while many such

1 For the coins from Gamla, see Syon 2014c.

18 Small Change in Hellenistic-Roman Galilee

studies focus on economy and trade patterns, this one its the current trend of studies
of the ‘archaeology of ethnicity’ and the ‘archaeology of difference’.2
Finally, there have been complaints out there that “there is no dialogue between
diggers and coin people” (Butcher 2001–2002:7). I am both, and I hope that this does
make a difference.

aCknowledgemenTs

The sheer number of people who have helped me in the various stages of this work
precludes that all are thanked individually. The persons who allowed me access to
their private collections, the curators of the Kibbutz collections I consulted and my
IAA colleagues who granted me access to unpublished excavation material in the
Israel state collections (heretofore, IAA3) and elsewhere are acknowledged in the
listing of the sources for the material from the various sites (pp. 108–131). The help
of the scholars who allowed me to consult far-away resources through e-mail are
acknowledged in the relevant sections. Several individuals helped me by offering
counsel and advice, insights and crosschecking of data all along the way. These are
Donald T. Ariel, Gabriela Bijovsky, Nimrod Getzov and Moshe Hartal (all of the
IAA), Zvi Yavor (Gamla Excavations), Mordechai Aviam (Kinneret College), the
late Douglas R. Edwards (University of Puget Sound), Arthur Houghton (American
Numismatic Society), Andrea Berlin (Boston University), the late Alla Kushnir-Stein
(Tel Aviv University) and Uzi Leibner (Hebrew University, Jerusalem). Some of
these scholars allowed me to cite from their unpublished works, as relected by the
‘forthcoming’ or ‘in press’ entries in the list of references. Some of these individuals
also read and commented on both my dissertation and parts of this manuscript. Gabriela
Bijovsky and Mordechai Aviam were brave enough to read it all, as was Donald Ariel,
in his capacity as the editor of the Israel Numismatic Society publications. I am also
indebted to Christopher Howgego from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford for a very
stimulating discussion in July 2012. Needless to say, responsibility for shortcomings
remains mine alone. The inal form of this book owes much to the clever editing of
Susan Holzman, steering me away from the pitfalls of the English language while
retaining my personal style.

2 See for example Jones 1997, Edwards and McCollough 2007 (edited volume of papers), Derks
and Roymans 2009 (edited volume of papers) and Clarke and Jackson 2011.
3 The IAA administers the Israel state collections. For convenience, in this study, the material
of the Israel state collections will be referred to by the acronym IAA.
Acknowledgements 19

On the technical side, I would like to acknowledge the invaluable help of Idan
Shaked, who taught me to use the GIS program essential for the production of the
maps in this volume. Photographs are mine, unless stated otherwise.
The progress of this book toward completion was greatly aided by the Kennedy-
Leigh fellowship that I received from the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies,
which enabled me to spend three months in 2012 in the tranquil Oxford countryside
and just write. The generous support of Dr. David and Jemima Jeselsohn from Zurich,
Switzerland toward the publication of this book is gratefully acknowledged.
76 Small Change in Hellenistic-Roman Galilee

Table 8. Galilee hoards from Period 6. Numbers in parentheses

indicate quantity75

Location Date of burial Contents Source

‘Akko-Ptolemais c. 161 CE 38–40 gold aurei, 31 silver coins: CH 7.243
[116] Nero to Lucius Verus (34+) aurei from Rome;
Nero to Trajan (21) tetradrachms from Antioch;
Uncertain (9) tetradrachms from Antioch;
Vespasian (1) denar from Rome
Migdal [152] c. 220 CE 188 bronze coins: Titus to Elagabalus, 11 Meshorer
different mints 1976
Galilee c. 220 CE 16 gilded antoniniani CH 7.254
Ḥ. Qoshet [173] c. 220 CE 84 provincial tetradrachms from 19 mints: CH 7.157
Geta-Caracalla (42);
Macrinus-Diadumenian (14)
Elagabalus (28)
Paneas I c. 244 CE 28 bronze coins(17 identiied): Septimius Unpublished,
[5] Severus to Gordian III, seven different mints. IAA
Paneas II c. 249 CE 68 bronze coins (46 identiied): Unpublished,
[5] c. 100 CE to Philip Sr., 12 different mints. IAA
Paneas III c. 249 CE 69 bronze (47 identiied): Unpublished,
[5] Trajan to Philip Sr., 11 mints IAA
Gush Ḥalav [74] c. 250 CE 237 coins: Hamburger
Nero to Elagabalus (180) prov. tetradrachms, 1954
28 mints;
Sept. Sev. to Geta (22) denars from Rome;
Severus Alexander to Philip (35) bronze coins, 7
different mints
Kh. Wadi Ḥamam Late 3rd 25 silver, 8 bronze (some earlier and later coins Leibner and
[Site.151] century (?) may be intrusions): Bijovsky
2011 Trajan (2) denar from Rome 2013
Ant. Pius (1) bronze from Bostra
M. Aurelius (1) denar from Rome;
M. Aurelius (1) bronze from Paneas;
denars (3) from Rome, 2nd c. CE;
Sept. Severus (1) denar from Rome;
Caracalla (1) denar from eastern mint;
Caracalla (3) denars from Rome ;
Caracalla (3) Syrian tetradrachms: 2 from Tyre,
1 from Damascus;
Elagabalus (10) tetradrachms from Antioch;
Elagabalus (1) bronze from ‘Akko- Ptolemais;
Elagabalus (1) bronze from Capitolias;
Elagabalus (1) bronze from Neapolis;
Severus Alexander (2) bronzes from Caesarea
and Bostra;
Gordian III (1) tetradrachm form Antioch;
Hostilian (1) bronze from Caesarea

75 Included are only hoards with the latest coin dated 260 CE.
Some Aspects of Galilee in Current Scholarship 99

280
230

260

270
190

210

240
220
180

200

250
800

Sidon 35 Km
Tyre
Paneas
790

780

Golan
770 75
71 74
79
Upper Galilee

760
Shezor
‘Akko-Ptolemais 118 Gamla
129 121
Kabul
750 Haifa
Kokhva (Kaukab)
146 152
Kefar Hittin
162 167 Tiberias
Lower Galilee
740 178 Hammat Tiberias
184 Zippori 181
Mt. Carmel Tiv‘on Mashhad
195
Daburiyya
730 190 202
Ginnegar
Kefar Barukh
Yizre’el valley
720 220

Be
tS 240 Skythopolis
he
710 ’an
Mt va
lle
.G y
ilb
oa

700

Fig. 20. Distribution of ossuaries (after Aviam and Syon 2002). Sites with a site number appear
on the foldout map

active hiding places, or prepared ‘just in case’ by Jews who came from Judea at the
time and knew that these hiding places might be lifesavers.104
The settlements of the priestly courses. A list correlating the 24 priestly courses serving
the Temple with settlements in Galilee is found in some piyyutim (liturgical poems)
dated to the middle ages and on some inscriptions, possibly dating to the third–fourth
centuries CE. The list has long been held as relecting the actual relocation of the priestly
courses from Judea to Galilee following the First Jewish Revolt or the Bar Kokhba
revolt (Aviam 2007:131–132). However, Leibner (2009:404–419, with references)
has convincingly shown on logical, archaeological and textual grounds that although
this list was compiled sometime in the Roman period not later than the fourth century

104 I took only those sites from Shivtiel 2009 for which I found the evidence convincing.
108 Small Change in Hellenistic-Roman Galilee

below the map itself. Most of these sites are urban sites (Pella, Samaria, Jaffa), one
rural (Bet Ẓur) and two cult sites: Sia‘, a Nabatean temple in the Hauran and Mount
Gerizim, sacred site of the Samaritans but also a settlement in the Hellenistic period.
The numbering of the sites is from north to south and from west to east.
For each site, the publications listed contain the coin report(s) or the report (preliminary
or inal) for the speciic excavation from which the coins derive. Where available,
reference is made to an entry in NEAEHL, Frankel et al. 2001 or Leibner 2009, as these
contain many other references. When none of these are available, TIR is referenced
or a speciic publication. If the coins are unpublished, the names in parentheses are
those of the numismatist and/or the excavators. References to Hadashot Arkheologiyot
(HA) depart from the normal Author-Year format, because most are anonymous; only
volume and pages are given.

List of sites
1. Qal‘at Bustra. Map ref. 26277990.
Number of coins from periods 1–6: 5.
Source of coins (and publication):
5. Dar 1993:101–102.
Coins from other periods: Late Roman.
2. Ḥ. Snaim. Map ref. 26757975.
Number of coins from periods 1–6: 30.
Source of coins (and publication):
1. Degani coll., Kibbutz Dan.
2. Excavation (Dar 1993:82–84).
Other publication(s):
NEAEHL 4:1322–1324; Dar 1993.
Coins from other periods: Late Roman,
Byzantine, Ayyubid, Mamluk.
3. Bir en-Sobah. Map ref. 27087971.
Number of coins from periods 1–6: 1.
Source of coins (and publication):
1. Survey (Dar 1993:131).
Coins from other periods: not recorded.
4. Mazra‘at Jebel Siri (Hermon). Map ref.
26567961.
Number of coins from periods 1–6: 3.
Source of coins (and publication):
1. Survey (Dar 1993:153).
Coins from other periods: Ayyubid, Mamluk.
5. Paneas. Map ref. 26507947.
Number of coins from periods 1–6: 270.
Source of coins (and publication):
1. Degani coll., Kibbutz Dan.
2. Kibbutz Sede Nehemya coll.
3. Kibbutz Sasa coll., R. Getzov.
4. IAA excavation (City). Excavated by V.
Tzaferis, coins studied by G. Bijovsky.
5. IAA, ex. Reshef coll.
6. IAA excavation (Smithline 2006).
7. IAA excavation (Pan Temple). Excavated by
Z.U. Ma‘oz, coins studied by D.T. Ariel.
Other publication(s):
NEAEHL 1:143–146, 5:1587–1594; Tzaferis
and Israeli 2008a, 2008b.
Coins from other periods: Late Roman,
Byzantine, Umayyad, Ayyubid, Mamluk.
6. Nebi Ḥazuri. Map ref. 26837951.
Number of coins from periods 1–6: 1.
Source of coins (and publication):
1. Survey (Dar 1993:160–161).
Coins from other periods: not recorded.
7. Ḥ. Sa‘ar. Map ref. 27207948.
Number of coins from periods 1–6: 1.
Source of coins (and publication):
1. Survey (Dar 1993:139)..
Coins from other periods: none.
Table 9. Conspectus of the coins. Numbers in parentheses indicate quantity

132
Period Galilee, Southern Phoenicia and Syria Jewish and
related coinages Other Palestine Royal/ Imperial Foreign
‘Akko-Ptolemais Tyre Other mints
Egypt (123), Seleukid (13),
Ptolemaic Ptolemaic Ptolemaic (Sidon) Ptolemaic (Jaffa) Cyprus and other
1 (626) Side (4),
(10) (200) (10) (2) Ptolemaic mints Arados (4)
(260)
Seleukid Seleukid: Antioch
2a Seleukid (337) Civic (136) Seleukid and civic: Sidon
(264) Antiochos VII Seleukid (269), Apamea, Ptolemaic (9),
(48),
2 (2427) (Jerusalem) (Askalon, Gaza) Sel. Pieria, Autonomous
Damascus (3)
2b Seleukid Seleukid (12) (11) Phoenicia (14)
Civic (9)
(22) (1270) (23)
Autonomous
Seleukid Antioch,
Civic/ Autonomous
Late Seleukid Autonomous Autonomous (Sidon) Hasmonean (Antioch, Sel. Nabatean,
3 (7455) Autonomous Askalon
(39) (835) Seleukid (Damascus) (206) (5824) Pieria, Tripolis) Iturean,
(306) (3) (174) Ptolemaic
(68)
M. Antigonos,
4a Civic Herod, Autonomous
(Damascus, Gadara, Hippos, Archelaos (378) Antioch,
Skythopolis, Sidon) Nabatean,
Askalon,

Small Change in Hellenistic-Roman Galilee

(169)) Iturean,
Civic and Colonial Autonomous Caesarea, Dor, Antioch, Rome
4 (1842) Antipas, Philip, Agrippa I, II, Phoenicia,
(104) (231) Gaba, Gaza (61)
Roman governors, ‘Roman Commagene,
4b (32)
administration’ N. Syria and
First Jewish Revolt others
(773) (94)
Nabateans,
Aelia, Askalon, Alexandria,
Agrippa II Caesarea, Dor,
Sidon, Gadara Hippos, Phoenicia,
Colonial Autonomous (Tiberias and Gaba, Gaza, Antioch,
5 (985) Ẓippori, Tiberias
(42) (345) Paneas) Neapolis, Raia, Rome, Bostra (62) Decapolis,
(276) Arabia and Asia
(90) Sebaste Minor
(139) (31)
44 cities in
12 cities in Phoenicia,
Damascus, Gadara, Hippos,
Autonomous and Samaria Judea Antioch, Bostra, Decapolis,
Colonial Paneas, Skythopolis,
6 (1977) Colonial and Southern Rome Arabia, Egypt,
(194) Ẓippori, Sidon, Tiberias
(557) Palestine (186) Asia Minor and
(429) (439) Greece
(172)
Period 2: The Seleukid Period (200–125 BCE) 141

280
230

260

270
190

210

240
220
180

200

250
800

Sidon 35 Km 11
Tyre
Tyre 10
9 7 5 Paneas
‘Akko 15
790 19
20 23
30 32 22 31
46
780
38 45 47
36 51
6 40 52
61 8 55
39 62 71 Golan
65 45 64 77
770
69 5 6 20 74 75
79 85 10 86
70 82
92 8 7 93 12 100
18 98 Upper Galilee
760 94 108 110 114
‘Akko-Ptolemais 116 154 118 111 48 125 68 126 Gamla
117 Lower Galilee 123
6 127
750 Haifa 139 138
137 13 151
6 148 150
164 177 5 167 Tiberias
180 166 18 169
740
24 184 40 168
Zippori 178 28 181 189
Mt Carmel
190 196
730 202 205 206
200 204
207 210
215 Yizre’el Valley 211
Dor 6 212 8 216 69 217
720 219 224
220 221 19 229
20 225 222 228 232
36 231
230 34 240 Skythopolis
Be 233
710
7 245
tS 264 coins of Tyre
he 246
Mt

244 473 coins of ‘Akko

’a
Gi

n 116 Sites
Va 247
lb

lle
oa

700
y

Pella Mt. Gerizim Samaria Jaffa Bet Zur

1 15 22 157 49 143

Fig. 24. Period 2a. Coins of Tyre and ‘Akko-Ptolemais. Site numbers in black; quantities
(over 5) in white

Fig. 25. Coin of Antiochos III from ‘Akko-Ptolemais

(IAA 115287, photo Clara Amit)
Period 3: The Hasmonean Period (125–63 BCE) 165

280
230

260

270
190

210

240
220
180

200

250
800

Sidon 35 Km 1 2 H. Snaim
Tyre
Paneas
790

1 23 Tel Anafa

780

1 50 Darbashiya
1 34 Hanita
4 55 el Shuhara
Golan
770
Upper Galilee 18 74 Gush Halav

Phoenicia 18 100 Meron

4 102 H. Shema'
760

‘Akko-Ptolemais 2 116
Galilee 125 Bethsaida 4
316 126 Gamla
Lower Galilee
2 137 H. Gahosh 2 133 H. Kanaf
750 Haifa 1 140 H. Ravid
16 139 Yodfat 4 151Kh. Hammam
6 154 Arbel
27 177 Shihin Tiberias 1 169 Hippos
740
12 178 Zippori
1 180 Karm er-Ras
Mt Carmel 1 193 Ma'alul
730

1 210 H. Zafzafot
Dor Yizre’el Valley

720

Skythopolis
710 Be
tS
he
Mt

444 Coins
’ an
Gi

23 Sites
Va
lb

lle
oa

y
700

Mt. Gerizim Jaffa Bet Zur

52 1 16

Fig. 34. Coins of Hyrkanos I. Site numbers in black; quantities in white

of the foray of Ptolemy IX (Lathyros) into Galilee, during which he attacked Shiḥin
on the Shabbat (Ant. 13.12.4 [337]), suggesting a considerable Jewish population
there already in 103 BCE (Rappaport 1993:28; Goodman 1999:600). At Shiḥin the
latest Tyrian coin found for Period 3 is dated 112 BCE.

The episode of Ptolemy IX Lathyros

This episode has left a rather interesting numismatic trail (Fig. 36), material evidence
of the troubled years following the siege of ‘Akko-Ptolemais by Alexander Yannai in
103 BCE. As recounted by Josephus (Ant. 13.12.2–13.3.1 [13.320–355]), when Yannai
laid siege to the city, the city council turned to Ptolemy IX Soter II (Lathyros)—at the
time in exile on Cyprus—for help. Lathyros grabbed the chance to gain a foothold on
Period 4: The Early Roman Period I (63 BCE–70 CE) 181

The boundaries of Galilee

The solid red line in Fig. 38 shows the ethnic boundary of Galilee with Phoenicia,
one that the coin evidence corroborates and which became the provincial boundary
between Syria and Judea in c. 44 CE (above, p. 83). However, the cluster of three
sites west of this line [127, 136, 137; Fig. 47] and additional archaeological data offer
some ground for considering that in Period 4 the line bulged westward as shown by
the dotted line in Fig. 38.

25

20
2nd–3rd century CE

15 Jewish War
Jewish

10 Hasmonean
Seleukid/Civic
5 Ptolemaic

0
Tel Keisan [127] Tel Afeq [136] H. Gahosh [137]

Fig. 47. Numismatic proile of sites 127, 136 and 137

Tel Keisan, a large tell that was intensively excavated, supplies only minor support
for my suggestion, but the numismatic picture at Tel Afeq and Ḥ. Gaḥosh, is quite
convincing in assigning a Jewish population to these sites.143 The First Jewish Revolt
bronzes of ‘Year Two’ are especially signiicant.
Unfortunately, Ḥ. Gaḥosh remains unexcavated at present.144 Considering its size
and numismatic proile, Ḥ. Gaḥosh is perhaps a new contender to be the Kapharath/
Kaphareccho (Καφαρ̀θ: Life 37 [188]; Καφαρεκχ̀: War 2.20.6 [2.573]) that Josephus

143 At Tel Keisan a few Late Roman and Byzantine coins are also present and at Ḥ. Gaḥosh a
small number of Late Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic coins as well.
144 On March 2, 2013 I visited the site of Ḥ. Gaḥosh with Mordechai Aviam. It is a large site,
approximately 50 dunams, which had been thoroughly destroyed by bulldozers and plowed
over. Large ashlars are heaped throughout the site and on the surface we identiied pottery from
the Hellenistic through the Mamluk periods. However, it seems that there are still considerable
remains underground.
Period 4: The Early Roman Period I (63 BCE–70 CE) 193

280
230

260

270
190

210

240
220
180

200

250
800

Sidon 35 Km 12
Commagene? Tyre 1 3
10 1 5 5 Paneas
4
790
Berytos 1 15

Damascus 1
2 28
23
Askalon
780

Nabateans
Golan
Itureans
770
1 74 1 75
1 79 Upper Galilee
2 100
1 98
ia ea 1
760 yr a
110
‘Akko-Ptolemais
iaS I ud 1 111 15 126 Gamla
c ia
o vin inc
750 Haifa
Pr ov 3
Pr 139
Lower Galilee
1 151
1 167 Tiberias
740 2 4 169
2 184 2 178 Zippori 168
Mt. Carmel

730 Yizre’el valley

Gadara
1 207
Dor 1 213 1 215
720 1 214 228
2 221 2 224
1
2 235
Caesarea 8 240 Skythopolis
710 1
Mt B
. G et Sh 237 73 Coins
ilb e’a 32 Sites
oa nv
all
ey
700

Fig. 52. Distant mints represented in the study area. Site numbers in black; quantities in white

Roman coins
In the entire study area, four bronze coins and one silver coin have been documented
from the mint of Rome. These will be presented and discussed with the coins of Rome
in Period 5.

Control sites
Going back to Fig. 38, I shall now consider the control sites. At Sia‘ in the Hauran
the majority of coins are Nabatean (99 out of 104 in Period 4), as this was a major
Nabatean cult site. The rest are Herodian, relecting the fact that Sia‘ was in the
territory of Philip and later Agrippa I. The complete lack of any Phoenician coinage is
consistent, showing Sia‘ to be outside the currency zone of Phoenicia. The Jerusalem
mint is the most represented at all other control sites that have coins from this period,
236 Small Change in Hellenistic-Roman Galilee

140

120

100

80
Number of sites

60

40 Deserted
Coninuing
20
New
0

-20

-40

-60
Per P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 LR

Fig. 70. Settlement continuity and change by periods, based on numismatic

data (Per=Persian period; LR=Late Roman period)

has no value, so shards are left lying around and contribute much more to the bulk
(literally!) of evidence. Moreover, the number of deserted sites in the Late Roman
period certainly appears exaggerated and is due to poor data collection for this period.
A great rise in the number of new settlements can be observed in Period 1, a
slight decline in new settlements in Period 2, and a small number of new settlements
in subsequent periods. From Period 2 onward, most settlements continue from the
previous one. For an effective comparison with the parallel periods in the Frankel
publication (that is, the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman periods), the chart in Fig. 71
was constructed, containing only the 45 sites from my study that fall in Upper Galilee
and have ive or more coins. The large number of new settlements in the Hellenistic
period and the small number in the Roman period chart is latly contradicted by
Frankel et al. (2001:28), who note, “the overall picture is one of a continuous rise in
the number of sites from period to period.”
For a site-by-site comparison with the three surveys, Table 26 was constructed.
It contains 36 sites from this study that appear in the Frankel survey, ive sites that
appear in the Ben David Survey and 11 sites that appear in the Leibner survey (two
of which also appear in the Frankel survey).177

177 For Frankel et al. 2001 and Ben David 2005, I noted the data site-by-site; for Leibner 2009 I
used his table on pp. 309–310.