The discovery of a large, 1,650-year-old public building and a hoard of coins at an excavation in Lod provides the first compelling evidence of the Gallus Revolt.
The 94 silver and bronze coins, dating from 221 to 354 CE, were hidden in the building’s foundations and likely intended to be retrieved once the turmoil subsided. The most recent coins correspond to the Gallus Revolt (351-354 CE), marking the building’s destruction during this turbulent period. Historical texts, though sparse, mention that significant Jewish communities, including Lod, Zipori, and Tiberias, faced severe destruction by the forces of Roman Caesar Flavius Constantinus Gallus.
This revolt occurred around 351-352 CE, two centuries after the better-known Bar Kochba revolt. The Gallus Revolt was more localized to the Galilee and was the last Jewish uprising against the Roman Empire.
The building, adorned with impressive stone and marble artifacts, contained inscriptions in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. One inscription, currently under study, bears the name of a Jewish man from a priestly family. The absence of pig bones among the site’s bone assemblage further indicates the building’s Jewish origins.