A 2,000 year old sword

2011

A 2,000-year-old iron sword, placed in a leather scabbard has been uncovered during works by the Antiquities Authority in the drainage canal, which served as a tunnel for the residents of Jerusalem to hide from the Romans in at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple. Parts of the belt by which the sword was carried were also found.

According to the excavation directors, archaeologist Eli Shukrun from the Antiquities Authority and Prof. Roni Reich from the University of Haifa, “it is possible that the sword belonged to an infantryman from the Roman garrison who was in Palestine when the Great Revolt broke out against the Romans, in 66 AD. The sword is surprisingly well preserved, not only with respect to its length (about -60 cm), but also in the preservation of the leather sheath – a material that does not usually preserve well – and a few of its decorative aspects.”