Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkable stash of copper coins hidden deep inside an underground refuge below the traditional settlement of Hukok, in Galilee, shedding latest light on certainly one of the ultimate Jewish uprisings against Roman rule.
The 22 coins, dating back greater than 1,600 years, were found inside a narrow crack deliberately carved at the top of a winding tunnel.
The find was made during joint excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Zefat Academic College, as a part of a wider effort to establish the location for visitors under the Keren Kayemet LeYisrael–Jewish National Fund.
IAA researcher, Uri Berger and Prof. Yinon Shivtiel from Zefat Academic College explained: “It seems that the people stashing this hoard fastidiously planned its hiding place, hoping to return to it when the threatening troubles were over. The coins were discovered in a pit, deliberately dug at the top of a narrow winding tunnel.”
Beneath Hukok is a sprawling network of tunnels and chambers first used in the course of the Great Revolt (66–70 CE) and later expanded before the Bar-Kochba Revolt (132–136 CE).
While researchers expected the coins to originate from these earlier struggles, they were astonished to search out the likenesses of Roman emperors Constans I and Constantius II on the currency.
These rulers reigned in the course of the Gallus Revolt of 351–352 CE, the last known Jewish rebellion against Rome.
The discovery suggests the complex was repurposed centuries after its original construction.
The researchers stated: “The hoard provides – perhaps, unique evidence, that this hiding complex was utilized in a method or one other during one other crisis – in the course of the Gallus Revolt – a rebel for which we’ve only scant historical evidence of its existence.”
The Hukok site has been excavated since 2019 with the assistance of Zefat Academic College’s graduate students, local residents, soldiers, and volunteers from the Israel Cave Explorer Club.
According to Dr Einat Ambar-Armon, who oversees the IAA’s Community Archaeological Educational Center within the Northern Region, it was volunteers who stumbled upon the treasure, making the find “not only a crucial scientific event, but in addition an significant communal educational experience – one which brings the general public closer to its heritage, and strengthens the sense of belonging and the connection to the past.”
Beyond its scholarly value, the researchers, Prof Shivtiel and Berger, say the invention highlights the resilience of Galilee’s Jewish communities under Roman oppression.
Israeli Heritage Minister Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu called the hoard “a living testimony to the determination of Jews of the Galilee and their ongoing struggle to keep up their identity and traditional Jewish lifestyle even in difficult times under the Roman rule.”
He continued: “Finds of this kind connect us on to the lives of our ancestors, and remind us of the depth of our historical roots here.”
The IAA and Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (KKL) plan to further develop Hukok into a significant heritage and tourism destination.
The Director of IAA, Eli Escusido, shared: “The Israel Antiquities Authority considers the Hukok site, considering all its discoveries, as a flagship project, which can be a magnet for tourists from Israel and the world.
“We are working together in order that the whole public can benefit from the hidden treasures of this site.”
Similarly, Sheli Ben Iishai, who directs KKL-JNF’s Northern Region, described the location as “a model for the successful integration of nature, tourism and archaeology, in cooperation with the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Jordan Valley Regional Council.”
The full scientific study of the coins can be published within the forthcoming issue of the Israel Numismatic Research Journal.
 Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkable stash of copper coins...){kind=link}