(9) Coinage of the Revolt of 66-70 A. D.—Two silver coins, a shekel and a half-shekel (see [Fig. 201]), were formerly attributed to Simon the Maccabee. The shekels weigh 212.3 to 217.9 grains and bear on their face above a cup or chalice the legend “shekel of Israel” and a numeral. The numeral stands for the first year. Examples are known which carry the enumeration up to the year “five.” On the reverse a triple lily is pictured, and in similar Hebrew characters the words “Jerusalem, the holy” are inscribed. The half-shekel is smaller and has the same markings except that the legend on its face is simply “half-shekel.” On the coins issued after the first year a Hebrew sh precedes the number of the year. The sh is an abbreviation of the Hebrew word shana, year. For various reasons the consensus of expert opinion now is that these coins were issued during the Jewish war of 66-70 A. D., which, according to Jewish reckoning, extended into the fifth year.
Coins of the Roman Emperors, Augustus and Claudius, are shown in Figs. [195], [197].
CHAPTER XI
HIGH PLACES AND TEMPLES[195]
A Sanctuary of the Pre-Semitic Cave-dwellers. A Rock-altar at Megiddo. A Rock-altar at Jerusalem. High Place at Tell Es-Safi. High Place at Gezer: Choice of site. Child-sacrifice. Corrupt worship. At Taanach: Pillars. An altar of incense. High Places at Petra. A Supposed Philistine Temple. At Megiddo: A Hebrew temple. A palace chapel. Another chapel. The Temple to Augustus at Samaria.
1. A Sanctuary of the Pre-Semitic Cave-dwellers.—The oldest sanctuary which we can trace in Palestine appears to have been one of the caves at Gezer. This cave was 32 feet long, 20 feet broad, and 7 feet 11 inches at its maximum height. There were two entrances: one on the east, a tall, narrow doorway, was approached by a passage sloping downward; the other, on the west, was a low, narrow passage, just wide enough to admit a person. At the northern end there was a projection in the form of an apse, the floor of which was about 2 feet higher than that of the rest of the cave. In the roof of this apse there was an opening, about 1 foot wide at the bottom, leading to the upper air. The rock of the roof here was 3 feet 5½ inches thick. This opening was 2 feet 8 inches in diameter at the top, and a channel 4 feet 6 inches long cut in the surface of the rock was connected with it. On the surface of the rock above the cave and about this channel there were a number of “cup-marks” similar to those found near ancient sacred places. Some of these were, perhaps, intended for places to set jars, but some of them were connected with the channel which emptied into the opening in the roof of the cave[196]; (see [Fig. 202]).
The suggestion which the excavator, Prof. Macalister, makes is that this was a sanctuary of the cave-dwellers, that they killed their victims on the surface of the rock above, and let the blood run through the channel and the opening into the cave underneath, where their deity was supposed to dwell. They lived in caves themselves, and it was natural for them to think their deity did the same. This suggestion received some confirmation from the fact that on the floor of the apse under this opening there were found, upon removing a layer of earth, a number of pig bones. The presence of these might be accounted for on the supposition that they were offered in sacrifice by the cave-dwellers to their deity. Swine were unclean to all Semites, and, no doubt, the later Semitic inhabitants would have thrown the bones away, if they had ever cleaned out the cave sufficiently to discover them.
2. A Rock-altar at Megiddo.—Another rock-altar of high antiquity was discovered on the slope of the mound of Tell el-Mutesellim, the ancient Megiddo.[197] It was situated on the slope of the tell, about half-way down. Its surface was covered with “cup-marks,” like those on the altar at Gezer, and an opening about 2½ feet wide at the top and 1½ feet wide at the bottom made it possible for blood to trickle down through 3 feet of rock into a cave below. This cave contained several rooms, the largest of which was about 18 feet 6 inches long, 7 feet 8 inches wide, and 8 feet 6 inches high. In the most northerly of the rooms were found various implements of black flint, potsherds, coals of a wood-fire, the bones of sheep and goats, olive-stones, and ashes. In the midst of the central room there lay a heap of human bones, the skulls of which were badly destroyed. These human bones show that after the cave had been used as a sanctuary it was employed as a sepulcher. The same thing happened at Gezer and elsewhere; (see [Fig. 205]).