Books by Danny Syon
Galilee has received attention far disproportionate to its size, because both the ministry of Je... more Galilee has received attention far disproportionate to its size, because both the ministry of Jesus began in Galilee, and post-135 CE Judaism was centered there. This study maps the distribution of bronze coins found at some 250 sites in Galilee in the Hellenistic and Roman periods (c. 300 BCE–260 CE) and uses the pattern as an independent tool in evaluating historical processes in that region. Learning which coins were used as ‘small change’ by the Galilean
population provides insight into the dynamics of its ethnic composition during this time span. Employing spatial analysis of coin finds, related numismatic understandings, and archaeological and historical evidence when available, the boundaries of Jewish Galilee are traced from the
Hasmonean period onward. Drawing on the new ‘archaeology of ethnicity’ and the ‘archaeology of difference’ approaches, this study offers new insights and common sense answers to some of the controversial issues about
first-century Galilee.
This volume presents the extremely rich finds of weapons and militaria from Gamla, a Second Templ... more This volume presents the extremely rich finds of weapons and militaria from Gamla, a Second Temple period settlement that fell to the Romans in 67 CE, in the course of the First Jewish Revolt.
In addition, the volume includes a report and catalogue of some 6000 coins found at the site, including a detailed analysis of the numismatic material and its context, a reevaluation of the unique group of coins minted at the site and a study on the settlement pattern around Gamla.
Numismatic papers by Danny Syon
American Journal of Numismatics, 2024
Presented here is a bronze hoard, composed of civic coins of ' Akko-Ptolemais, found in the excav... more Presented here is a bronze hoard, composed of civic coins of ' Akko-Ptolemais, found in the excavations at Khirbet el-'Eika. It is argued that the dispersal pattern of several more coins found in the vicinity suggests that they also belong with the hoard, fixing its deposition in the mid-140s BCE, when the site was abandoned. The added evidence of a practically identical hoard found some 14 km from the site raises the possibility that the mint of ' Akko-Ptolemais continued striking plentiful civic issues long after the death of Antiochos IV in 164 BCE, a time when very few royal Seleucid issues were struck in the city. The two hoards also highlight the troubled period of the mid-second century BCE, when Seleucid kings and pretenders, and Ptolemaic interests and Hasmonean political aspirations, clashed in the southern Levant.
Israel Numismatic Research, 2024
This paper presents and analyzes an unusual hoard comprising 70 gold, silver and bronze
coins fou... more This paper presents and analyzes an unusual hoard comprising 70 gold, silver and bronze
coins found in the excavations at el-A‘araj, the probable site of Bethsaida. The evidence is
weighed for its date of deposition, the reasons for its unusual composition and whether it is an
emergency or a savings hoard. Some insights are offered for coin circulation in the mid-second
century CE in eastern Galilee. A short introduction is provided on the history of the site and
the context of the hoard.
Danny Syon and Ayelet Tacher. ‘Akko III: The 1991–1998 Excavations: the Late Periods. Part II, The Knight's Hotel Site, the Messika Plot and Miscellaneous Studies (IAA Reports 73). Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority., 2024
Crusader-period courtyard in Area E of the Knights' Hotel Site, with numerous watersupply install... more Crusader-period courtyard in Area E of the Knights' Hotel Site, with numerous watersupply installations (photographer, Danny Syon) Back Cover: The sea at 'Akko (photographer, Daphna Stern); inset: ampulla and molds from the Crusader-period pilgrim-souvenir workshop (photographer, Danny Syon)
Danny Syon and Ayelet Tacher. ‘Akko III: The 1991–1998 Excavations: the Late Periods. Part II, The Knight's Hotel Site, the Messika Plot and Miscellaneous Studies (IAA Reports 73). Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority., 2024
Crusader-period courtyard in Area E of the Knights' Hotel Site, with numerous watersupply install... more Crusader-period courtyard in Area E of the Knights' Hotel Site, with numerous watersupply installations (photographer, Danny Syon) Back Cover: The sea at 'Akko (photographer, Daphna Stern); inset: ampulla and molds from the Crusader-period pilgrim-souvenir workshop (photographer, Danny Syon)
‘Atiqot 115, 2024
The coins found in the excavation at Naṣr ed-Din tell of two peaks of settlement at the site: in ... more The coins found in the excavation at Naṣr ed-Din tell of two peaks of settlement at the site: in the second century BCE and in the second century CE. The coins suggest that the site became Jewish in the first century BCE, was reduced or abandoned in the first century CE and revived in the second century CE, still as a Jewish village. The numismatic evidence does not support the identification of the site with Bet Ma'on, mentioned by Josephus and in the Talmud; however, one must consider that the site is large and the data presented here pertain only to the limited area that was excavated.
Numismatische Zeitschrift 127:475-476, 2021
In excavations conducted in the Galilean village of Mi‘ilya in 2017, an Austrian penny (more spec... more In excavations conducted in the Galilean village of Mi‘ilya in 2017, an Austrian penny (more specifically, a “Wiener Pfennig”) was found, the first such coin discovered in Israel. The coin is from the Wiener Neustadt mint and dates from c. 1230–c. 1250 CE.
Appendix A: Coins from Ḥorvat Tefen. Pages 77-79 in Sabar R. Ḥorvat Tefen: A Hasmonean Fortress in the Hinterland of ʿAkko-Ptolemais. Basor 387 (2022):55-85
BASOR 387, 2022
Insights on the coin issues of King Alexander Yannai (Jannaeus)
Israel Numismatic Research, 2021
Forty-six silver tetradrachms, 44 of them forming a hoard, were discovered in the unusual context... more Forty-six silver tetradrachms, 44 of them forming a hoard, were discovered in the unusual context of a mass grave, in the Roman-period cemetery in the colony of ‘Akko-Ptolemais. The coins range from Nero to Hadrian, with a terminus post quem for the hoard’s deposition in 119 CE. We argue that previous attempts to connect the hoard to the Bar Kokhba revolt are untenable, and suggest several possible scenarios for its deposition, none of them provable.
Eretz Zafon. Studies in Galilean Archaeology, 2002
A Hellenistic silver hoard and bronze coins offer insights for the Hasmonean expansion into Galilee
A.M. Berlin and P.J. Kosmin eds. The Middle Maccabees Archaeology, History, and the Rise of the Hasmonean Kingdom, 2021
Contract Archaeology Reports VI. Haifa., 2016
Eighty-eight coins excavated at the foot of Tel 'Akko, from the Persian period to the Ottomans
ארץ-ישראל 32 (ספר נוה), 2016
Israel Numismatic Research, 2017
A large group of bronze coins, with a peculiar corrosion pattern, were found in excavations
nea... more A large group of bronze coins, with a peculiar corrosion pattern, were found in excavations
near Tel ʻAkko. Aided by gamma radiography prior to cleaning, the quality and quantity of
their identications were enhanced. They were bronze satrapal coins from western Asia Minor,
dated to the early fourth century BCE. That information, together with the North Aegean and
Attic imported pottery, and the temporary nature of the structures suggest, when combined with
historical sources, that the site was a camp occupied by Greek mercenaries during one or more attempts by the Persians to reconquer Egypt
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Books by Danny Syon
population provides insight into the dynamics of its ethnic composition during this time span. Employing spatial analysis of coin finds, related numismatic understandings, and archaeological and historical evidence when available, the boundaries of Jewish Galilee are traced from the
Hasmonean period onward. Drawing on the new ‘archaeology of ethnicity’ and the ‘archaeology of difference’ approaches, this study offers new insights and common sense answers to some of the controversial issues about
first-century Galilee.
In addition, the volume includes a report and catalogue of some 6000 coins found at the site, including a detailed analysis of the numismatic material and its context, a reevaluation of the unique group of coins minted at the site and a study on the settlement pattern around Gamla.
Numismatic papers by Danny Syon
coins found in the excavations at el-A‘araj, the probable site of Bethsaida. The evidence is
weighed for its date of deposition, the reasons for its unusual composition and whether it is an
emergency or a savings hoard. Some insights are offered for coin circulation in the mid-second
century CE in eastern Galilee. A short introduction is provided on the history of the site and
the context of the hoard.
near Tel ʻAkko. Aided by gamma radiography prior to cleaning, the quality and quantity of
their identications were enhanced. They were bronze satrapal coins from western Asia Minor,
dated to the early fourth century BCE. That information, together with the North Aegean and
Attic imported pottery, and the temporary nature of the structures suggest, when combined with
historical sources, that the site was a camp occupied by Greek mercenaries during one or more attempts by the Persians to reconquer Egypt
population provides insight into the dynamics of its ethnic composition during this time span. Employing spatial analysis of coin finds, related numismatic understandings, and archaeological and historical evidence when available, the boundaries of Jewish Galilee are traced from the
Hasmonean period onward. Drawing on the new ‘archaeology of ethnicity’ and the ‘archaeology of difference’ approaches, this study offers new insights and common sense answers to some of the controversial issues about
first-century Galilee.
In addition, the volume includes a report and catalogue of some 6000 coins found at the site, including a detailed analysis of the numismatic material and its context, a reevaluation of the unique group of coins minted at the site and a study on the settlement pattern around Gamla.
coins found in the excavations at el-A‘araj, the probable site of Bethsaida. The evidence is
weighed for its date of deposition, the reasons for its unusual composition and whether it is an
emergency or a savings hoard. Some insights are offered for coin circulation in the mid-second
century CE in eastern Galilee. A short introduction is provided on the history of the site and
the context of the hoard.
near Tel ʻAkko. Aided by gamma radiography prior to cleaning, the quality and quantity of
their identications were enhanced. They were bronze satrapal coins from western Asia Minor,
dated to the early fourth century BCE. That information, together with the North Aegean and
Attic imported pottery, and the temporary nature of the structures suggest, when combined with
historical sources, that the site was a camp occupied by Greek mercenaries during one or more attempts by the Persians to reconquer Egypt
form less than half of the original hoard and span 28 years. It is suggested that this emergency hoard was buried around 110 BCE and is connected with the Hasmonean penetration into Galilee, before its annexation to the Hasmonean state.
necessarily detract from the value of the work.