Ancient Synagogue Coins: A Digital Dissertation Project
During archaeological excavations over the last century, fifty-seven
separate coin deposits have been found in ancient synagogues from Late
Antique Palestine and the Diaspora. This project provides an overview of
these deposits, the buildings they were discovered in, and the specific
coins they contained. Based on their archaeological contexts and an
analysis of the Jewish religious and socio-economic circumstances of
Late Antiquity, I argue that there are seven possible reasons for why
these deposits were placed inside a synagogue building. This
dissertation project gives an overview of these categories and explores
the different economic and symbolic functions coins in sacred spaces
could have had in ancient Jewish society.
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