​A small finger ring found in the ruins of the Fortress of Herodium in Israel some 50 years ago has now been cleaned, studied and identified as very possibly being the ring of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate who governed what was then the Roman province of Judea in the time of Christ from AD 26–36. It was Pilate, of course, who famously tried Jesus and turned him over to be crucified.

The ring was found along with a great many other artifacts in excavations conducted at Herodium in 1968–1969 by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, but it was not thoroughly cleaned and its inscription read until only recently at the request of the current excavation director, archaeologist Roi Porat.  The results of this cleaning were published just this last week.

In addition to the image of a large wine vessel, the ring was found to bear a simple inscription in Greek – which the Romans used to communicate with the people of the Eastern Mediterranean areas that they controlled. The inscription reads “of Pilate” meaning “belonging to Pilate.” Could this be the Pontius Pilate of biblical fame?  Although the name of Pilate is known to every Christian today, Pilate was a somewhat rare name in the 1st century. The name is derived from the Latin “pilum” (armed with a javelin) and is a Roman cognomen – an extra name sometimes given to Roman citizens.  But there was only one Roman Governor of Judea called Pilate, and it is perhaps unlikely that the ring would have belonged to another individual of the same name.   
 
In fact, only one other artifact has been discovered in Israel bearing the name of Pilate – the so-called “Pilate Stone” – a massive inscribed building block discovered in 1961 excavations at Caesarea which was a Roman headquarters in Judea.   That stone bears four lines of text, two of which read, “[Po]ntius Pilate … [Pref]ect of Juda[ea].”

But what of the newly identified ring – could it be an item personally worn by Pilate himself? The answer is that this is unlikely.  The ring is made of relatively inexpensive copper alloy and its workmanship is somewhat rough (see photo) – not what we would expect of the personal ring of the most powerful man in ancient Judea at that time.   

However, the fact that the ring probably was not worn by Pilate himself is of little importance.  Kings, governors, and other rulers of that era commonly wore signet rings by which they impressed seals on the documents they sent out in order to “sign” them – just as we sign letters or official documents with our names today.  Ancient rulers of that time also often gave, loaned, or had cheaper copies of these rings made for their highest-ranking assistants so that they could issue commands and seal official documents on behalf of the ruler himself (for an Old Testament example, see Esther 3:10; 8:2). 

The newly identified ring is very likely such an assistant’s seal – a secondary ring entrusted to an individual who had been given the authority to relay or issue commands or statements on behalf of Pilate himself.  But this does not make the connection between the ring and the biblical figure of Pontius Pilate any less real.    

The “Pilate Ring” joins the already known “Pilate Stone” as further confirmation of an individual mentioned in the Bible –   in this case, an otherwise little-known Roman governor who, through his mention in the New Testament, would become one of the most famous or infamous Romans of all. 

Biblical archaeology is never more fascinating than when it gives us a glimpse of a person mentioned in the Bible.  This is a relatively rare event as we must remember that the number of all the people mentioned in the Bible is infinitesimally small compared to all the people who have lived –  so archaeology is statistically not likely to often find evidence of specific individuals mentioned in the Scriptures.

​Governors and Kings

Exceptions do occur, of course. Only recently, a seal impression (a small lump of clay impressed with writing and images on a carved ring or other object used for sealing or authenticating documents and other items) was found near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem bearing the title of the governor of the city. This was an important office and one such Governor of Jerusalem is mentioned in the Bible (2 Kings 23:7) during the reign of the great biblical king, Hezekiah.

Several years ago, a royal seal of King Hezekiah himself was also found in excavations in the same general location.   Hezekiah, who is mentioned in the Bible many times (2 Kings 18–20, Isaiah 36–39, 2 Chronicles 29–32, etc.), ruled Judah around 700 B.C. and was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah.  In fact, the biblical record shows that Isaiah was an important supporter and advisor of this good king who did much to remove pagan religion from ancient Judah during his reign.  Other seal impressions of Hezekiah are known, but this was the first time one was found in context – exactly where it should be –  on an archaeological site.  This find is a major attestation of an important biblical figure.

But what about Hezekiah’s advisor, the prophet Isaiah who is even more famous to millions of readers of the Scriptures?  Perhaps no other prophet in the Hebrew Bible better symbolizes the prophetic books of the Old Testament, and it appears that archaeology may now have produced attestation for him, too.

Signed, Isaiah

Just this past month, Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem announced that the ongoing excavations in the same area of Jerusalem where the Hezekiah seal was found had unearthed another seal impression which appears to be that of the great prophet Isaiah.

The 2,700-year-old stamped clay artifact bears the identifying seal of an individual named as Yesha‘yah[u] Nvy[?].  The seal impression is divided into three bands or “registers,” with the top register containing the partial image of a grazing deer –  a symbol of blessing and protection used in ancient Judah.   The center register contains the words leyesha‘yah[u] “[belonging] to Isaiah.” The lowest register is somewhat damaged, but apparently contains part of the word nvy’ or “prophet.”

Critics of religion have been quick to stress that the damaged end of this final word may mean that it represented something else, but this seems unlikely.  It might be compared to the situation in modern English where the almost complete writing “John Smith, Ph …” most probably represents “John Smith, Ph.D.” rather than some unlikely word such as “John Smith, Phony.”  It is the opinion of Dr. Mazar and many of the archaeological specialists who have examined this artifact that its text should be read as “[Belonging] to Isaiah, [the] proph[et].”  Seals of this nature frequently abbreviated or shortened names and titles due to the limited space for writing on their small surfaces, so the absence of the implied words [belonging] and [the] in this text are entirely normal.

But as to whether this seal is the seal of Isaiah himself, the archaeological evidence of context is quite compelling.  The seal was discovered in an undisturbed area of the excavation less than ten feet from where the seal of King Hezekiah was found.  The physical proximity of the two seals lends weight to the likelihood that the Isaiah seal is that of the prophet himself.  As Dr. Mazar has pointed out, it would not be the first time that seal impressions of two individuals mentioned in the same verses of the Bible have been found together in an archaeological context.  In the City of David excavations (2005–2008), the seal impressions of two high officials in King Ẓedekiah’s court (both mentioned in Jeremiah 38:1), were found only a few feet apart. Further, the names of King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah are mentioned together 14 of the 29 times in which the name of Isaiah is mentioned.  Mazar is certainly correct that no other biblical figure was closer to King Hezekiah than the prophet Isaiah.  
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Isaiah’s life and work were of the greatest importance in the history of ancient Judah. The Scriptures indicate that the prophet may have served for as long as 64 years –  throughout the reign of Hezekiah and into the reign of his successor.  Given the close relationship between the king and his prophet-advisor, it may well be that evidence of Isaiah has now been found in an area where it might well have been expected. 

* For more background on biblical archaeology see our post “The Bible and Archaeology” here.

Archaeology is a fascinating field of study  that can help us better understand the Bible in a number of ways.

​Nevertheless, it is an area in which we should exercise caution because a great deal of what appears on the internet and in print regarding the so-called “archaeology” of the Bible is unsubstantiated and not based on the actual findings of archaeology at all.

​Each year stories surface on the internet, in newspapers, and eventually in books of the remains of Pharaoh’s army found in the Red Sea (see an example of this refuted on our sister site, here),  parts of Noah’s ark found on Mount Ararat, and other similar claims to substantiate some part of the Scriptures.  Most of these spectacular claims are not based on fact, however, and are often unsuspectingly spread by those who would like to believe them, but do not know how to confirm or disprove the stories themselves.

On the other hand, much has been found in the course of archaeological research that has not only confirmed aspects of the Bible, but also greatly enriched our understanding of its details.  As someone trained in archaeology who has personally been involved  in excavations in Israel  and elsewhere in the Middle East, the author can certainly attest to the continuous flow of material being found in ancient sites that is completely genuine and that does illuminate the biblical narrative.  Consider the following examples of some of the discoveries made in recent years. 

An important  Scripture-related “find” widely reported in the news is of a seal imprint of the famous biblical king Hezekiah.  Several  years ago, a team of archaeologists digging  near the southern part of the wall surrounding Jerusalem’s “Old City” found an ancient  refuse dump dating to some eight hundred years  before Christ.  Among the many discarded items found in the ancient trash heap were thirty-three clay objects bearing seal impressions. Only recently when these seal impressions were studied was it found that one of them was inscribed “Belonging to Hezekiah [the son of] Ahaz king of Judah.”  This find has been widely publicized as proving the existence of the biblical Hezekiah, which it certainly does, but the find also has even broader significance. 

A number of objects have been found in excavations in Israel bearing the names of ancient biblical characters or groups.  Sceptics are often quick to dismiss these objects when the names are not directly associated with the individuals to whom they might refer, but in the case of this seal, Hezekiah is clearly said to be the son of Ahaz (2 Kings 18:1), removing any doubt that this Hezekiah is the Hezekiah of the Bible.  This irrefutable connection helps show that other biblical names found in archaeological contexts very possibly also attest actual biblical characters. Other biblical kings who are very probably or certainly attested in archaeological finds include King David (on a 9th century B.C. stele from northern Israel which mentions a “king of Israel” and the “House of David”) and King Jehu (on an inscribed obelisk of the Assyrian king  Shalmanesar III which mentions tribute paid by “Jehu, the son of Omri”).

Archaeology has, in fact, silenced skeptism about the Bible in a number of areas.   If we go back a little over a hundred years, doubters regarded the Hittite people  mentioned in the Old Testament as a fiction because apart from  references to them in the Bible, there was no evidence they actually existed.  Today, Hittitology is an important part of Ancient Near Eastern studies, the palaces and cities of these people have been excavated, and many thousands of Hittite texts have been found and translated.  Far from not existing, the Hittites were, in fact, a dominant power in Asia Minor until around 1200 B.C.

There are many such instances where archaeology has shown the Bible record is not suspect, as it is often claimed to be.  Skeptics once said that Moses could not have written the first five books of the Bible because it was presumed that  Semitic peoples did not have writing until long after his time.  Because of  archaeology, we know now that phonetically spelled writing in Semitic languages existed from at least  the early 2nd millennium B.C.

Consider one more example of something the Bible clearly records which is still rejected by many today. Leviticus 18 tells us that God planned to cast the Canaanites and related peoples out of the Promised Land due to their extreme depravity. That chapter accuses the Canaanites of many evil practices including child sacrifice.  Some modern sceptics have challenged the likelihood that this practice actually existed in ancient Canaan and claim that there is no actual historical evidence for it (you can read an article on this on our sister site, here). 

Archaeological evidence of child sacrifice by the Canaanites has been found, however. Several ancient reliefs carved around the time of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, in the temples of Karnak and Luxor, actually depict this abominable Canaanite practice.  The reliefs were made to celebrate Egypt’s victories over her northern neighbors and depict Egyptian soldiers attacking Canaanite fortified cities of the type described in the Book of Joshua.  In these scenes, the kings of the cities are shown with braziers making fiery offerings to their gods over the dead bodies of children on the city walls (exactly as is described of the king of Moab in 2 Kings 3:27). That these representations unquestionably depict Canaanite child sacrifice is the conclusion of the scholarly publication of the Egyptian scenes (A.  Spalinger, “A Canaanite Ritual Found in Egyptian Reliefs,” Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 8 [1978]:47-60).
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But the importance of archaeology for biblical study goes far beyond  the fact that it confirms many aspects of the biblical record. Equally important for believers is the understanding of the Scriptures archaeology can provide in giving us an image of what life was like in Old and New Testament times and helping us to gain a much deeper understanding of many of the things the Bible says.  Look for news on this site of continuing discoveries as we go along.