Students discover Roman coin, basalt relief on Golan field trip

A group of students from the Kinneret Academic College recently made two incredible discoveries in one day, first finding a Roman coin from the third century BC and then discovering a basalt relief depicting a lion.

The field trip was organized by the department for Land of Israel studies at Kinneret Academic College and set out to tour the ancient Jewish villages in Galilee and Golan Heights under the direction of Prof. Motti Aviam, according to the Kinneret Academic College.

A Roman coin showing an emperor

The first stop of the trip was the ancient village of Majdulia, where the excavation is led by one of the College's professors.

During the guided tour of the site, one of the students found a well-preserved coin depicting Roman emperor Gallienus and dating to the third century CE.

Toward the end of the trip, the students visited Ein Nashut, the site of an ancient synagogue. The students were sent to explore the site on their own, then to return and present their findings.

After coming back, two of the students told the group about a stone they saw lying at the foot of the hill, seemingly depicting a lion relief.

After the group of students found the stone again, Prof. Aviam identified it as a broken piece of basalt relief, showing a lioness feeding her cub.

They alerted the Antiquities Authority and after consulting with them, took the stone back to Kinneret College for fear of looters stealing the discovery.