The Fall of... .

Wouldn't it be something if an old medieval copy is found in a monastery? One can dream ...

 

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Although we shouldn't be too far ahead of things. I think there can really be a wealth of information. If there was indeed a Latin section, it could mean that the complete works of Titus Livius are there, possibly books written by Tiberius and Claudius, not to mention obscure histories that we do not even know anymore.

Tacitus does indeed have a sour humor in his works. I really appreciate that.

That's a nice Tacitus style phrase

 

It is certainly possible because new antique texts are found every time. But on the other hand, so many monastery library have already been searched. In any case, it would be the dream of many Historic and Classici I know. I remember that a Classicist once said: If there is a Heaven I hope that the lost books of Tacitus are there.
We can keep dreaming!

 

It may not be in the Latin section. It might survive as a Greek translation in the Byzantine section, if there is such a thing. In a Syrian monastery where the languages are Arabic and Syriac, the monks may not know what they have. Also if Tactus does exist it's probably in the form of a palimpsest with scripture on top.

 

I've posted these two coins before but it seems appropriate to post them again. Nice group of coins Kevin ! The 1st coin is the famous Judaea Capta denarius, & the 2nd coin was struck within the compound of the Holy Temple.

 

Whatever the real outcome of the Masada siege one things for sure, and that's the Roman engineering prowess....Their siege capabilities were incredible!.....Those thousand or so Sicarii sitting in their near on impregnable fortress must have watched in awe as the Romans basically geologically changed the landscape!..A little bit like being 1 up in match against Brazil with a minute to go, you know your going to be on your back foot..................

 

I love that Jewish Shekel. I notice its weight is that of the Tyrian Shekel so I guess it was designed to carry on the Shekels most of us associate with the Biblical Shekels of the thirty pieces coins. The weight does not seem to match any Roman coins, except perhaps some provincial mints, so I guess these were not counterstrikes of the smaller silver coins which supposedly were struck over denarii.

 

Indeed a great example of a Shekel of the period. Wish I had one.

 

Kevin, The weight of Jewish War shekels varies a great deal especially on Year 3 coins. I don't know if this was from clipping or a dwindling supply of metal to work with. CNG has a Year 2 shekel in their feature auction 114 with a weight of 13.84 gm. I've seen them as low as 13.25 gm, & rarely over 14.20 gm. One thing is for sure, they are of unusually high purity for coins of that period. Robert Deutsch, in his book Jewish Coinage During the 1st Revolt Against Rome 66 - 73 CE, states after metallurgy tests the war shekels were 98 - 99% pure silver .

 

a.c.h., I looked a long time to find a War Shekel that was a "keeper", & this coin was the best I could afford . Year 2 shekels are the most common & the odds of finding a nice looking coin are better with Year 2, but they can be very pricey . I've seen coins inferior to mine sell for over 10 K .