Pilate Stone

PILATE STONE (replica casting on display in Caesarea Maritima)[1]
Item Description
Language: Latin
Medium: limestone
Size: 82 centimeters high, 65 centimeters wide
Length: 4 lines of writing
Genre: Building Dedication
Dedicator: Pontius Pilate
Title: prefect of Judea
Approximate Date: 26–37 AD
Place of Discovery: Caesarea, Israel
Date of Discovery: 1961
Current Location: Israel Museum
Inventory number: AE 1963 no. 104
Chief Excavator: Antonio Frova
Significance: Confirms historicity of Pontius Pilate and rank of administrators of Judea prior to Claudius

The Pilate Stone is the name given to a damaged block (82 cm x 65 cm) of carved limestone with a partially intact inscription attributed to, and mentioning, Pontius Pilate; a Prefect of the Roman-controlled province of Judaea from 26–36 AD. It was discovered in the archaeological site of Caesarea Maritima, in 1961. The artifact is particularly significant because it is the only widely accepted archaeological find, to date, of an authentic 1st-century Roman inscription mentioning the name "Pontius Pilatus". It is contemporary to Pilate's lifetime, and accords with what is known of his reported career.[2][3] In effect, the writing constitutes the earliest surviving record and only contemporaneous evidence for the historical existence of this person; otherwise known only from the New Testament and brief mentions in retrospective Roman histories, which have themselves survived only in still-later copies.

It is likely that Pontius Pilate made his base at Caesarea Maritima (the "governmental residence and military headquarters" beginning in 6 AD[4]) where the stone was discovered, and travelled to Jerusalem as necessary.[5]

The Pilate Stone is currently located at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.[6][7] Replica castings can be found at the Archaeological Museum in Milan, Italy, and on display in Caesarea Maritima itself.

Inscription

On the partially damaged block is a dedication to the deified Augustus and Livia ("the Divine Augusti") of a Tiberieum (a building in honour of Tiberius Caesar Augustus). It has been deemed authentic because it was discovered in the coastal town of Caesarea, which was the capital of Iudaea Province[8] during the time Pontius Pilate was Roman governor.

The partial inscription reads (conjectural letters in brackets):[3]

[DIS AUGUSTI]S TIBERIÉUM
[...PO]NTIUS PILATUS
[...PRAEF]ECTUS IUDA[EA]E
[...FECIT D]E[DICAVIT]

The translation from Latin to English for the inscription reads:

To the Divine Augusti [this] Tiberieum
...Pontius Pilate
...prefect of Judea
...has dedicated [this]

Discovery

Pontius Pilate inscription; the original stone, now located in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem

The limestone block was discovered in June 1961 by Italian archaeologists led by Dr. Antonio Frova while excavating an ancient theater (built by decree of Herod the Great c. 30 BC). The stone had been reused in the 4th century as part of a set of stairs leading up to the seating and was discovered in situ.[9] The theatre is located in a town that was called Caesarea Maritima in the present-day city of Caesarea-on-the-Sea (also called Maritima).[10]

References

  1. ↑ The Pilate Inscription
  2. ↑ Archaeology and the Galilean Jesus: a re-examination of the evidence by Jonathan L. Reed 2002 ISBN 1563383942 page 18
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Studying the historical Jesus: evaluations of the state of current research by Bruce Chilton, Craig A. Evans 1998 ISBN 9004111425 page 465
  4. ↑ A History of the Jewish People, H.H. Ben-Sasson editor, 1976, page 247: "When Judea was converted into a Roman province [in 6 CE, page 246], the Romans moved the governmental residence and military headquarters from Jerusalem to Caesarea.
  5. ↑ Historical Dictionary of Jesus by Daniel J. Harrington 2010 ISBN 0810876671 page 32
  6. ↑ Jerry Vardaman, A New Inscription Which Mentions Pilate as 'Prefect' , Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 81, 1962. pp 70–71.
  7. ↑ Craig A. Evans, Jesus and the ossuaries, Volume 44, Baylor University Press, 2003. pp 45–47
  8. ↑ A History of the Jewish People, H.H. Ben-Sasson editor, 1976, page 247: "When Judea was converted into a Roman province [in 6 CE, page 246], Jerusalem ceased to be the administrative capital of the country. The Romans moved the governmental residence and military headquarters to Caesarea. The centre of government was thus removed from Jerusalem, and the administration became increasingly based on inhabitants of the Hellenistic cities (Sebaste, Caesarea and others)."
  9. ↑ A.N. Sherwin-White, review of "A. Frova, L'iscrizione di Ponzio Pilato a Cesarea" in The Journal of Roman Studies, 54 (1964), p.258.
  10. ↑ R. Russell, Fallen Empires, BibleHistory, 2010. pp 1–2

External links

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