BAR KOCHVA'S BALLISTA BALL

Some students in Gush Etzion dug up an ancient weapon used during the Bar Kochva revolution in ancient times:

An ancient ballista ball, claimed to be one of those used by Jewish warriors fighting against the Roman Empire during the Bar-Kochba revolt, has been unearthed by high school students in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem.

The rebellion, led by Simon Bar-Kochba between 132 and 136 CE, was also known as the Third Jewish Revolt, because it was the final of three Jewish uprisings against the Romans due to religious and political persecution.

It is estimated that many thousands of Jews died during the revolt, resulting in a massive depopulation of the communities inhabiting the Judean Hills.

Many survivors of the battle were sold into slavery by Roman captors.

On Monday, Yaron Rosenthal, director of the Kfar Etzion Field School, said the stone ball was discovered during an annual excavation in Gush Etzion led by school counselors shortly before Tisha Be’av.

There may still be several thousand more of these balls out there waiting to be found. Nice to see one of them was unearthed.