An ancient ring found in Bethlehem about 50 years ago has been linked to Pontius Pilate, the Roman who ordered that Jesus be crucified, Haaretz reports.
Professor Gideon Forster of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found the bronze ring while digging at Herodion, a fortress constructed by King Herod, near Bethlehem in the West Bank not long after the Six-Day War in 1969. Recently, the findings from the dig were given to Hebrew University’s Dr. Roee Porath, whose team is currently working the site.
After cleansing the ring and using a special camera from the Israel Antiquities Authority labs, researchers discovered it had an inscription showing a wine ship with Greek writing, which translated to “Platus,” which is a name used to refer to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Jerusalem from the years 26 to 36, who was referred to in the New Testament as the person who ordered Jesus’ execution.
“I don’t know of any other Pilatus from the period and the ring shows he was a person of stature and wealth,” said Professor Danny Schwartz.
In the 1960’s, Forster also found a stone inscribed with the name “Pilatus,” which was attributed to the Roman Pontius Pilate, who likely used Herodion as his administrative headquarters.
“You can see he had a natural link to the Herodion,” Porath told Haaretz. “Even for Herod it was more than just a tomb site with a palace. It was also a significant site of government. You can see the unusual significance this site had. “
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