Founded in 1923 by Jewish pioneers as a farming community, Ramat Hasharon has now become part of Tel Aviv’s greater metropolitan area. But a recent accidental discovery has revealed an ancient settlement in the same location. Stuart Winer writes:

Archaeological finds at a construction site indicate there was residential and industrial activity at the location of a Tel Aviv suburb some 1,500 years ago. . . . Among the items uncovered at the site of a new residential neighborhood were a mosaic-floored wine press, a chandelier chain, and a gold coin that appeared to have been hand-signed by its owner.

The coin was minted in 638 or 639 CE by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. . . . One side shows the emperor with his two sons and the other the hill of Golgotha in Jerusalem, which Christian tradition identifies as the site of the crucifixion of Jesus. Scratched out on the coin in Greek, and possibly also Arabic, is an inscription that experts assess is likely the name of its owner, according to Robert Kool, head of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Numismatics Department.

“The coin encapsulates fascinating data on the decline of Byzantine rule in the country and on contemporary historical events, such as the Persian invasion and the emergence of Islam, and provides information on Christian and pagan symbolism and the local population who lived here,” Kool said in a statement.

[T]he excavations . . . came as Ramat Hasharon prepares to celebrate its centenary in two years’ time. Avi Gruber, the city’s mayor, said work has already started on incorporating the finds into the future neighborhood.

After several weeks of passionate political conflict in Israel over judical reform, the tensions seem to be defused, or at least dialed down, for the time being. In light of this, and in anticipation of the Passover holiday soon upon us, Eric Cohen considers the way forward for both the Jewish state and the Jewish people. (Video, 8 minutes. A text is available at the link below.)