The artefact, which is made from copper-alloy, bears the inscription “of Pilatus”

[TheWorldNewsOrg]

The artefact, which is made from copper-alloy, bears the inscription “of Pilatus” which experts believe refers to the brutal governor Pontius Pilate, the man responsible for putting Jesus to death, according to the Bible https://t.co/o130LoptaO

— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 30, 2018

 

[The Librarian]

A wine vessel and the Greek inscription “Pilatus” can be clearly seen on the ring, according to Haaretz.

[JW Insider]

I have some doubts.

[The Librarian]

57 years after the stone inscription that proved Pilate existed they've found his ring seal.

22 hours ago, JW Insider said:

I have some doubts.

What doubts? Just curious

[JW Insider]

1 hour ago, The Librarian said:

What doubts? Just curious

FWIW, this part of the Temple of Herod where it was found was apparently from a strata of several items that more likely came from the time of the official Jewish Revolution in Judea which is dated to 66 CE.

The wine bottle motif, was in fact a motif that was given prominence during the Jewish Revolution and is also found on Jewish Revolutionary coins dated to the 2nd and 3rd year of the Revolution. 

Pilate's stone inscription at the "Palestinian" port of Caesarea was in Latin not in Greek. Pilate was part of an occupying force which at the time, was already differentiating itself from previously Hellenized regions by using Latin instead of Greek.

One of the goals of the Roman occupation was to impress the occupied regions with the splendor of Rome and the opulence, talent, finery, etc. Pilate, and other governors, were known for gold rings and expensive tastes, not cheap alloys. (Not only that but the cheap ring is further devalued because it already had a metallic defect when forged based on the way the lettering tries to avoid it, but then runs out of space to balance P I L - A T O, and ends up with P I  - L A T O.)

The skill of the craftsman who inscribed this ring was typical of what a local person, soldier, or freed slave might buy to show his family name. It is crude and awful. In my metal shop class back in 1968, half the class could easily have done a better job with crude equipment. 

To make it Pilate's ring, it is translated in the genitive, as if meaning "belonging to Pilate." But the last letter is not actually visible, and was only chosen to be an O as one method of making this appear to be a "seal ring" or "bulla." As a "bulla" it would have failed in its purpose, as no one would believe a sealed letter stamped with this "bulla" actually had come from Pilate.

It would be the most embarrassing cheap bulla any governor ever had. Like a very bad counterfeit. (I was at the Jewish Museum in NYC about a year ago and saw perfectly executed jewelry designs from the first century that would have belonged to a well-to-do Jewish family. A rich Roman governor would have access to at least the same kind of "laser-accurate" lettering.

There are additional problems with the artifact based on the political situation in Israel, which are harder to prove. But it has long been known that finding artifacts that are of interest to Christians (Westerners) are often timed to embarrassing news about Israel's atrocities. The US is covered from hearing about most of these, but there are English outlets of Israeli news, such as haaretz.com that do not hold much back.

This can sound conspiratorial to many Americans, but finds in the disputed portion of Jerusalem with David's name on it are sometimes forged, but the very real, possible finds are often held back until the timing works better. Same goes for Gaza and West Bank. This particular find was from near Bethlehem and therefore the West Bank. The item has been known for many years, and was supposedly only recently cleaned up for publication. This is in the midst of a decision on Netanyahu's fate in court over a scandal, another scandal where the Israeli Defense Minister was just discovered to have been lying for the last several years about involvement in Syria, and a several other embarrassments from this week. haaretz.com reported on this particular artifact, but also just ran an article that telegraphs some upcoming fighting we can expect out of the West Bank now that Gaza has grown quiet:

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-with-gaza-border-quiet-next-challenge-could-come-from-west-bank-1.6701110

I don't know enough about Israeli happenings to evaluate any of these latter ideas. But my doubts are based on the first few ideas already mentioned above.