Bible Archeology Discoveries

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Nabataean Royal Coinage
Discovered: Nabataean kingdom, especially Petra; surviving coins held in museum collections worldwide
From: (c. Late second century BC to AD 106; especially the reign of Aretas IV (9 BC–AD 40))

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The Nabataean kings issued silver and bronze coins bearing royal portraits, symbols, and inscriptions. Coins associated with Aretas IV show the king alone or with queens including Huldu and Shaqilat. Other Nabataean rulers also appear on surviving coins. The designs include portraits, cornucopias, and other symbols familiar across the eastern Mediterranean.

These coins were used in trade and everyday transactions, but they also displayed the authority of the ruling family. Some can be dated by reign or regnal year. The surviving series helps historians reconstruct royal succession and changes in Nabataean political life before the kingdom was annexed by Rome in AD 106.

2 Corinthians 11:32–33 mentions an ethnarch under King Aretas guarding Damascus during Paul’s escape. The passage does not mention coins, but the coinage provides independent evidence for the Nabataean royal dynasty.

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Notable Finds

Much of what is described in Bible text is lost to history, requiring readers to assume the historicity of the scriptures.

However, many of the places and events described in the Old and New Testaments are periodically corroborated by archeological finds.

Some finds simply help us to better understand things from the ancient world. However, others provide important evidence as to the truth of scripture regarding things about which there had previously been skepticism.

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