Biblical story proven true as evidence for Maccabean Revolt found in Judean Desert

The hoard, worth some 30,000 shekels (more than £7,100) in today’s money, was unearthed by archaeologists in the Murabba’at Cave, located within the Darageh Stream Nature Reserve near the Dead Sea, back in May this year.

The coins — of which there were 15 in total — were found in a unique, lathe-turned wooden box arranged with pieces of sheep’s wool, and covered by a large piece of purple woollen cloth and on top of that layer of earth and small stones.

The coins — which were studied in the Israel Antiquities Authority’s metal finds laboratory — were found to all be silver tetradrachma coins, each worth four drachma, that had been minted at the behest of the Ptolemy VI Philometor.

Ptolemy VI was the king of the ancient Greek state of Ptolemaic Egypt from 180–164 BC and then again from 163–145 BC. He ruled at the same time that his uncle, Antiochos IV Epiphanes — dubbed “the wicked” in Jewish tradition — reigned over the Seleucid Empire, whose domain included Judea.

According to the researchers, the three earliest coins found in the box were minted in either 176 or 175 BC, and the latest in either 171 or 170 BC

Based on the latter dates, the experts believe that the hoard was most likely hidden at the beginning of, or just prior to, the events of the Maccabean Revolt.

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1710712/bible-news-maccabean-revolt-evidence-found-judean-desert-antiochus-IV