Papyrus fragments, found in a cave near Bethlehem, are part of a proclamation of the Second Jewish Revolt against the Romans, about 132 C.E., the Sunday Times reported here from Amman. The proclamation was signed by Bar Kochbah, known as Simeon Ben Kosibah.
The fragments are being assembled by G. Lancaster Hardin, head of the Jordan Government’s Antiquities Department, assisted by a staff of Arab experts. According to the Amman report the title of the proclamation has been deciphered to read “Deliverance of Israel by the Ministry of Simeon Ben Kosibah, Prince of Israel.” It seems that many copies of the proclamation were prepared on single sheets of papyrus and cut out as required.
Other identified fragments, the report states, are from operational orders to army commander Yeshua Ben Galgoleh. Coins of the same period have also been found. The caves, where the discoveries were made, are in a ravine known as El Murabaat, just north of Ain Jiddie, otherwise the Biblical Engedi part of the wilderness to which the Jews fled to continue guerrilla operations against the Roman armies.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
