The name of the man who ordered Jesus crucified and ran his trial, the ancient infamous Roman governor of Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate, has been deciphered on a bronze ring found in excavations at the site of Herodion near the West Bank’s Bethlehem, some 50 years ago.
The ring was found during a dig led by Professor Gideon Forster from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a short time after the Six-Day War in 1968-69, as part of preparations to open the site to visitors.
Findings were recently handed over to the current team that works at the site, led by Dr. Roee Porath, also from Hebrew University.
Pontius Pilate's ring drawing\: J. Rodman; photo\: C. Am
The ring was one of thousands of items found in the dig. The famous name on it was discerned after a thorough cleansing, when it was photographed with the use of a special camera at the Israel Antiquities Authority labs. The inscription on what was apparently a stamping ring included a picture of a wine vessel surrounded by Greek writing translated as saying “Pilatus.’”
The name Pilatus has been linked to that of Roman governor Pontius Pilate, mentioned in the New Testament as Jesus’ executioner. Pilate was the fifth of Roman leaders in Judah, and apparently the most important of them. He ruled in the years 26 to 36, and some say even from the year 19. The name was rare in the Israel of that era, says Professor Danny Schwartz.
“I don’t know of any other Pilatus from the period and the ring shows he was a person of stature and wealth,” Schwartz said.
A stamping ring of this type is also a hallmark to the status of the cavalry in Roman times, to which Pilate belonged. The ring is quite simple, therefore researchers believe it was used by the governor in day to day work, or belonged to one of his officials or someone in his court, who would use it to sign in his name.
Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter Email * Please enter a valid email address Sign up Please wait… Thank you for signing up. We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting. Click here Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later. Try again Thank you, The email address you have provided is already registered. Close
There has been one other find in Israeli archaeology with the name Pilatus on it, which is also attributed to the infamous Roman. In the 1960s, Prof. Forster found a stone with the name inscribed on it as well.
Herodion excavation site Eyal Toueg
The Herodion fortress was built by King Herod who also gave it its name. Following his death in the first century, it became a huge burial site. But the upper part of the complex continued to be used by Roman officials ruling over Judea at that time. It is likely that Pilate also used the Herodion as a central government administrative headquarters.
Pilate is a well-known historic figure, whose image was one of a powerful ruler. The historian Josephus says he moved iconic medallions bearing the imperial bust of Caesar into Jerusalem against Jewish law which forbade such idols in the holy city. There was a huge outcry after this act was discovered, which ended when Pilate threatened the protesters with mass slaughter.
“The Jews seemed to have rehearsed it ahead of time, falling to the ground as one, craning their necks to proclaim how they would sacrifice their lives not to violate the teachings of the Torah.” Pilate responded by immediately ordering the statues taken out of Jerusalem, Josephus wrote.
In another instance, Josephus tells of how Pilate used treasures from the holy temple to pay for renovations of the water system Herod had built in Jerusalem.
Researchers point at stories in the New Testament about the Bethlehem region where Herodion later became the site of a large Christian village.
“You can see he had a natural link to the Herodion,” Porath said. “Even for Herod it was more than just a tomb site with a palace. It was also a significant site of government. You can see the unusual significance this site had. “
The research into the ring was led by Professor Shua Amurai-Stark and Malcha Hershkovitz, and an article about it appeared last week in the Israel Exploration Journal.
Excavaciones arqueológicas en el Herodión.. 
 , gracias a modernas tecnologías, han descifrado en un  de bronce una inscripción en  con el nombre de , el  de  entre 26 y 36 d. C.

Dicho anillo fue encontrado junto con otras miles de piezas en 1968, durante unas  encabezadas por el profesor Gideon Forster de la  en Herodión, la  construida por el  entre los años 23 y 20 a. C. Las excavaciones comenzaron poco tiempo después de la , como parte de los preparativos para abrir el sitio a los visitantes.

Según informa el diario israelí '''', el famoso nombre fue discernido tras una limpieza a fondo y posteriormente fotografiado con el uso de una cámara especial empleada en los laboratorios de la  revelando la imagen de una vasija de vino en el anillo rodeada por una escritura en griego traducida como ''«Pilatus».''

''«Pilato no es un nombre común en esa época. De hecho, no sé de ningún otro Pilato y el anillo muestra que era una persona de autoridad y riqueza»'', señala a ''Haaretz'' el profesor de Historia Judía de la , Danny Schwartz.

Este tipo de anillos, muy comunes en el , se utilizaban para sellar con cera fundida documentos oficiales o marcar pertenencias. Los investigadores creen que fue empleado por el gobernador en su trabajo diario, o por alguno de sus funcionarios, que lo usarían para firmar en su nombre. Por sus características, los investigadores no tienen dudas de que se refiere al prefecto romano.