A Hoard of Syrian Tetradrachms from a Mass Burial in ‘Akko-Ptolemais

Abstract

Forty-six silver tetradrachms, 44 of them forming a hoard, were discovered in the unusual
context of a mass grave, in the Roman-period cemetery in the colony of ‘Akko-Ptolemais.
The coins range from Nero to Hadrian, with a terminus post quem for the hoard’s deposition
in 119 CE. We argue that previous attempts to connect the hoard to the Bar Kokhba revolt are
untenable, and suggest several possible scenarios for its deposition, none of them provable.