Object description:
According to the Bible (II Kings 17:24) the inhabitants of Samaria after 722 BCE consisted of populations brought from afar by the Assyrians. Some historians, however, suggest that the majority of the people of Samaria after 722 were descendants of the Israelites. There is some truth in both theories, and it seems that owing to the high percentage of Israelites in the area, the masses of people who lived there had accepted the Hebrew Law.
For a long time, the Samarians sought acceptance as a legitimate part of the Jewish people, willing to take part in the ceremonies of the Temple in Jerusalem. Despite their continual efforts, they were rejected by the Jews. The final separation between the Samarians and the Jews probably took place in the last years before Alexander the Great conquered the area (332 BCE).
This jug, allegedly discovered near the city of Samaria, originally contained 334 minute silver coins, as well as numerous pieces of jewelry. Of the coins, 182 were Samarian, 86 were Tyrian, and 66 were local imitations of Athenian prototypes. Based on the evidence of the dated coins, the hoard was hidden in 346/45 BCE. The Samarian coins bear Aramaic inscriptions mentioning the name Shamryn (Samaria), as well as the given names of several governors. The hoard is one of the main sources for our knowledge of the Samarians during the late Persian Period.
