30 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists Unearthed a Rare Hoard of Hasmonean Coins in Jordan Valley

A team of archaeologists from the University of Haifa discovered a rare hoard of approximately 160 coins during an excavation in the Jordan Valley, dating back to the Hasmonean period (the reign of Alexander Yannai (104-76 BCE)).

The discovery was made by a University of Haifa team led by Dr. Shay Bar and Dr. Yoav Farhi from the Zinman Institute of Archaeology.

The rare coins from the Hasmonean period were uncovered in an archaeological dig in the Jordan Valley in what is thought to have been a roadside station, on what was then a main road along Nahal Tirzah that ascended to the Alexandrion Fortress, also known as Sarbata, north of Jericho in what is now the West Bank.

The treasure that was discovered included about 160 coins, all of them belonging to King Alexander Yanai, whose Hebrew name was Jonathan. Alexander Yanai. He reigned in the years 104-76 BCE. He was the son of Yochanan Hyrcanus, the grandson of Shimon the Hasmonean (brother of Judah the Maccabee), and the great-grandson of Mattathias Miriam Ness—the rebellion against the forces of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The famous revolt, which broke out in 167 BCE, Among other things, it led to the purification of the Temple and the establishment of the Hanukkah holiday in the Jewish tradition.

Coins of Alexander Yanai. Photo: Haifa University
Coins of Alexander Yanai. Photo: Haifa University

The coins, all minted in 80/79 BCE during the 25th year of Yannai’s reign, bear distinctive markings. Each features an eight-pointed star with Aramaic text reading “King Alexander Year 25” on one side, while the reverse displays an anchor surrounded by Greek text identifying it as “[coin] of King Alexander.”

In archaeological research, such extensive coin collections are uncommon. According to Dr. Bar, the coins were probably concealed behind or inside a wall and wrapped in a leather sack or other organic material that eventually decomposed.

The discovery site revealed more than just the coin cache. Archaeologists found a previously unknown road station along the route to Herodium fortress (Alexandrium), complete with a ritual bath (mikveh), water reservoir, and several other structures along the Tirzah Valley banks.

“It is really a rare moment to discover so many coins,” Dr. Bar stated. He added that these findings indicate the important role of this place. The fortress, which overlooks the Jordan Valley, was razed at some point during the Jewish Revolt against Rome (66–74 CE).

As part of Israel’s archaeological heritage sites, the University of Haifa team intends to develop the site for public access, offering a concrete link to this important era in Jewish history.

University of Haifa

Cover Image Credit: Some of a cache of newly discovered Maccabi-era coins. Credit: Dr. Shai Bar/Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa

Related Articles

The Entire Genome Of 35,000-Year-Old Skull From Romania Sequenced “Peştera Muierii 1”

24 May 2021

24 May 2021

Researchers have successfully sequenced the whole genome from the skull of Peştera Muierii 1, women who lived in today’s Romania...

Archaeologists discovered how wine was cooled in Roman legions on the Danube

15 September 2023

15 September 2023

Lead archaeologist Piotr Dyczek, a professor at the Center for Research on Antiquities of Southeastern Europe at the University of...

“Exceptionally rare” gold sword pommel given to Scottish national museums

24 October 2022

24 October 2022

An “exceptionally rare” solid gold sword pommel found by a metal detectorist near Blair Drummond, Stirling, has been acquired by...

Archaeologists Uncovered a Tile Workshop From the First Century in Corsica

3 December 2024

3 December 2024

Archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) excavations on the east coast of Corsica have uncovered...

Archaeologists in northern Spanish have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text

15 November 2022

15 November 2022

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text, on  Irulegi archaeological site, near the Aranguren...

In French Necropolis 21 Roman “curse tablets” discovered including one written in the extinct Celtic language of Gaulish

18 January 2025

18 January 2025

During the excavation of an eighteenth-century hospital in north-western France by researchers from the Orléans Archaeological Service, a 2,000-year-old necropolis...

High-status Macedonian tomb discovered in ancient Aegae, Central Macedonia

2 April 2024

2 April 2024

In the ancient city of Aegae (present-day Vergina) in Imathia, Central Macedonia, during the construction of the sewerage network, tomb...

A new magnetic survey of the ancient Assyrian capital of Khorsabad has revealed a 127-room villa twice the size of the U.S. White House

26 December 2024

26 December 2024

Archaeologists in northern Iraq have conducted an extensive magnetic survey using an exhaustive magnetic survey at Khorsabad, once the ancient...

The researchers may have cracked the mystery of da Vinci’s DNA

7 July 2021

7 July 2021

A recent study of Leonardo da Vinci’s family tree indicates that the renowned Renaissance artist, inventor, and anatomist had 14...

Unveiling the Secrets of the “Air-Dried Chaplain”: A Unique Mummification Method Discovered in Austria

4 May 2025

4 May 2025

Researchers investigating a remarkably well-preserved mummy discovered in the church crypt of St. Thomas am Blasenstein, a small village in...

2000-year-old Ancient Greek ‘graduate school yearbook’ carved in stone found

5 June 2022

5 June 2022

Historians have discovered that an ancient Greek inscription on a marble slab in the collection of the National Museums of...

DNA Analysis Reveals Identifies the Genetic Makeup of Piceni the Most Fascinating Civilizations of Pre-Roman Italy

24 November 2024

24 November 2024

A study conducted by an international team coordinated by Sapienza University of Rome and the Italian National Research Council (CNR)...

Archaeologists Reconstruct the Face of a 7th-Century Anglo-Saxon Woman Buried with “Trumpington Cross”

21 June 2023

21 June 2023

In a remarkable archaeological discovery near Cambridge, England, the face of a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon woman buried with a rare gold...

Glacier archaeologists find a 1300-year-old arrow in melting ice

20 August 2022

20 August 2022

The Glacier archaeologists found a 1300-year-old arrow from the Norwegian Iron Age during a research project on the Langfonne ice...

An unknown church with a special floor plan discovered in Erwitte, northwestern Germany

18 September 2023

18 September 2023

Archaeologists from the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL) have discovered the remains of a former church from the 10th century near...