The Pilate Stone
The Roman governor who tried Jesus is named, titled and placed in Judaea by a stone cut during his own term of office.
Nommé hors de la BibleInscriptionAD 26–36
A limestone block, reused centuries later as a step, carrying a dedication that names Pontius Pilate and his title. It is the only inscription found bearing his name — and it confirms the office the Gospels give him, prefect, rather than the later term procurator that Roman writers used loosely.
[…]S TIBERIÉUM / [PON]TIUS PILATUS / [PRAEF]ECTUS IUDA[EA]E — "…Tiberieum … Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judaea…"
- Découvert
- The Roman theatre at Caesarea Maritima, Israel, 1961 — Antonio Frova's Italian expedition
- Conservé à
- Israel Museum, Jerusalem (a replica stands at the site)
- Langue
- Latin
- Comment il nous est parvenu
- Fouillé, ou encore debout là où il fut bâti.
Ce qu'elle montre
The restoration of the damaged letters is standard and the reading of Pilate's name is not in dispute.
Ce qu'en font les historiens
Cited in Roman provincial history as evidence for the equestrian title of Judaea's governors before AD 44 — a point of Roman administration, not of theology.
Dans l'Écriture
Se rattache à
Sources
- Pilate stone — overview and bibliography
- Frova, "L'iscrizione di Ponzio Pilato a Cesarea" (1961)
Ces textes sont pour l'instant en anglais. Les traductions suivront.