What's in an 'O'? Unusual Greek spelling may unlock mystery of ring tied to Pontius Pilate
It's a small, simple ring made of copper alloy and engraved with a handful of Greek letters and the image of a pottery vessel. But its unremarkable appearance belies a remarkable history: The signet was likely connected in some way to the New Testament figure Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea during the life of Jesus.
Researchers have discovered a small copper alloy ring engraved with Greek letters and an image of a pottery vessel. This ring, found in the 1960s at Herodium, a mountaintop fortress, has been a subject of debate since its discovery in 2018. The ring's Greek inscription, ΠΙΛΑΤΟ, has led scholars to question whether it belonged to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea during Jesus' time.
Catherine Bonesho, a UCLA professor of ancient Judaism, suggests that the ring likely belonged to someone who worked in Pilate's administration and was not Pontius Pilate himself. Bonesho proposes that the Greek letters represent a transliteration of the Latin word PILATO, meaning "for Pilate" or "to Pilate," rather than a misspelled or abbreviated Greek form meaning "belonging to Pilate."
This theory is based on the observation that the lettering in the inscription follows Latin grammar rules more accurately than Greek. If correct, this ring would not have belonged to Pilate personally but was used by someone associated with him, possibly an enslaved or formerly enslaved person employed by a local Judean elite.
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