1,900-year-old coins from Jewish revolt against the Romans discovered in the Judaen desert
Four coins dating back almost 1,900 years, to when the Jewish people launched a revolt against the Roman Empire, have been discovered in the Judaean desert . The coins were found in the Mazuq Ha-he'teqim Nature Reserve, which is located in the West Bank. They date to the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt (A.D. 132 to 135), when the Jewish people rose up against the Roman Empire . Although the revolt had some initial success, the Romans' counterattack resulted in mass slaughter. "Five hundred and eighty thousand men were slain in the various raids and battles, and the number of those that perished by famine, disease and fire was past finding out … thus nearly the whole of Judaea was made desolate," Roman historian Cassius Dio wrote in his book "Roman History " (translation by Earnest Cary). While the accuracy of the death toll he gives is a matter of some debate, there is no doubt that it was very high and many caves where refugees hid from the Roman arm...