Recently scientists deciphered a 1900-year-old scroll found in the Jewish desert. It turned out that this is a Roman document describing a court case on fraud that occurred shortly before the uprising of Bar-Kokhba (132-135. ) writes Arkeonews.
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The papyrus stored in the Israeli Antiquities Department since the 1950s was originally mistakenly classified as a Nabatean document. A scroll written in Greek is now recognized as the longest legal text of this kind found in the Jewish desert.
Dr. Anna Dolganov from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, which led further research, said: "
It records notes of the prosecutor, who was preparing for the trial in the fraud case, as well as the transcript of trials under the supervision of a Roman official. Scientists believe that in this matter two defendants of Jews, Saul and Gedalia appeared, which could be associated with the events that preceded the Jewish uprising against Roman dominance.
Hannah Cotton Paltiel, an honorary professor of the University of Jewish in Jerusalem, determined the true origin of the document in 2014, viewing the archives of the Israeli Antiquities Department. As the researcher said, she streamlined papyrus, " And when I saw that they were written in the \!
This discovery was the impetus for further research, which led to the joint work of Dr. Anna Dolganova, Professor Fritz Mittof from the University of Vienna, Cotton Paltiel and Dr. Avner Ecker from the Jewish University published in Tyche.
The document named Papyrus Cotton in honor of the researcher contains 133 lines of legal notes of the time of Emperor Adrian (117-138. It describes in detail the case of fraud in which Saul and Gedaly allegedly forged documents related to the sale and exemption of slaves in order to avoid taxes. As Dr. Ecker said: "
Under Roman law, crimes such as forging documents and tax fraud were punishable by severe punishment, including hard labor or death penalty. The papyrus also contains a hastily written protocol of the trial and notes that the prosecutors exchanged, but key details, such as the venue for the trial and the legal status of the accused, remain vague due to the lack of individual parts of the scroll.
In addition to legal consequences, this document contributes to a discussion of slavery in Hebrew society. It follows from the text that Saul and his father owned several slaves, although it is unclear whether they were Jews.
The fate of the lawsuit remains unknown, since he could interrupt the Bar-Kokhba uprising, which perhaps forced its owner to leave the papyrus in the caves of the Jewish desert, where he lay for almost 2000 years.
This discovery provides valuable certificates of ancient legal systems and social structures in Jewish communities during the time of Roman domination. "
Previously, Focus wrote about a sunken ship discovered off the coast of Sicily. According to scientists, it dates from V-VI centuries. BC. and is an important part of the history of the region.
We also talked about how coins became a tool for propaganda. Although this idea seems new, the money became an instrument of power long before modern rulers.