http://unitedwithisrael.org/archaeological-proofs-hanukkah/ Archaeological Proofs for the Hanukkah Story
Coins that used to issue whether oil in the Temple was pure (Source: Elders of Zion blog) The Hanukkah story is one of the most amazing stories in Jewish history. It speaks of how the Jewish people liberated themselves from a tyrannical ruler who could not accept the right of the Jewish people to follow their own religious traditions. In this sense,
the story of Hanukkah is a story of national redemption that demonstrated how the Jewish people could persevere against enormous odds and to re-inaugurate the Holy Temple for G-d. It also led to the establishment of the Hasmonean Dynasty, which marked the first time in Jewish history where Levites became political rulers.
However, despite the pivotal importance of the Hanukkah story to both Jewish history and to the Jewish faith, there is not so much archaeological proof for the Hanukkah story,
principally because built up structures from later periods now envelop many of the areas where the Hanukkah story took place. For example, the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock were built on top of where the Jewish Temple used to be, and any Jewish excavations near either place cause a political storm. Nevertheless, despite this fact, archaeologists have managed to uncover some important scientific proofs for the Hanukkah story.
Communique written by Seleucus IV (Source: Keren Ha-Yesod) As far as the archaeology of Hanukkah goes, an original communique was found written by Seleucus IV in 178 BCE, 11 years before the Maccabean Revolt occurred. Evidently,
this communique commanded Heliodorus, the chief minister of Seleucus IV, concerning the appointment of one Olympiodorus to begin collecting money from all of the temples in the region, which marked the inauguration of a significant, negative shift in Seleucid policy on Jewish autonomy that culminated in a ferocious Seleucid crackdown on the Jews of Judea and the looting of the Temple in 168-167 BCE.
Interestingly, this communique uncovered by archeologists corresponds perfectly with Maccabbees II. Seleucus IV was the elder brother of Antiochus IV, who upon coming to the thrown is cited in Maccabees II as having sparked the Maccabean Revolt by persecuting the Jews.
Heliodorus is described in the same book as having caused the first open conflict between the Seleucids and the Jews by attempting to seize funds from the Temple of Jerusalem in the same year as the communique, 178 BCE.
Another archaeological proof for the Hanukkah story can be found right on the Temple Mount. If one takes a stroll around where the Jewish Temple used to be, one can note that part of the walls of what used
Demonstrates the difference between the Herodian Wall and the Hasmonean Wall (Source: Jewish Magazine) to be the Jewish Temple were built by Herod yet other parts were in fact constructed by the Hasmoneans.
Some scientists believe that the Hasmoneans built this Temple extension in order to cover up the Syrian Acra, which Antiochus IV had built to house Greek troops and to keep the rebels in check. Due to Herod’s construction, most of what the Hasmoneans built went underground and probably is presently directly underneath the Al Aqsa Mosque.
When six homes within the Jewish Quarter of the Old City were excavated by archaeologists, homes from the Herodian period were discovered underneath them. Yet nevertheless, pottery from the Hasmonean times was also discovered during a dig underneath the largest Herodian mansion, leading some scholars to speculate that this Herodian mansion was previously the site of the Hasmonean Palace.
These homes, interestingly enough, had ritual baths that were invented by the Greeks. The archaeological digs from the Hasmonean era also reveal that decorations did not make usage of figurative images, which may be a reaction against Hellenism. Furthermore,
archaeology reveals that both Greek and Hebrew coins were in use during the Hasmonean era.
Yet, perhaps the greatest archaeological proof for the Hanukkah story can be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Until fairly recently, it was very difficult to make out who many of the people mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls were since names were mentioned in code. However, in a book called
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Hasmonean State, Hanan Eshel succeeded to do just that. Based on his understanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Teacher of Righteousness is Onias III, the legitimate Jewish High Priest who was overthrown by the Seleucids, while the Wicked Priest is Jonathan the Hasmonean.
Eshel believes that such sectarian texts give an alternative reading of Hasmonean history. By Rachel Avraham
