JERUSALEM.- A rare lead weight, bearing an inscription from about 2,150 years ago and preserved in excellent condition, was seized in Jerusalem in an operation by the Theft Prevention Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The inscription – “Heliodorus son of Apollonios, Agoranomos” – records the name of the official responsible for regulating weights and measures. It is dated to year 165 of the Seleucid era (148/7 BCE), during the Hellenistic rule in the Land of Israel. Alongside the inscription, a depiction of a dolphin appears, the meaning of which is still under study, with the hope of identifying the city from which the weight originated.

The weight was seized in an antiquities shop in Jerusalem, following intelligence information received by the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Theft Prevention Unit. Inspectors of the Authority questioned the shop owner in an attempt to trace the middlemen and looters who had removed the weight from its archaeological context.

The role of the Agoranomos was to supervise weights and measures and to prevent fraud in trade – and indeed, the weight is precise: one Mina, the standard unit of weight in that period, equal to one hundred Greek drachmas. The sign resembling the Greek letter “M” appearing on the weight may represent the first letter of the word Mina.

According to Ido Zangen of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The Greek names of Heliodorus and his father, Apollonios, attest to a Hellenized population. Both names are connected to the Greek sun gods – Helios and Apollo – and indicate a cultural-religious affinity with the Hellenistic culture that ruled the region at that time. These names were especially common in Idumea, where the local god ‘Qos’ was identified with the Greek sun gods.”

The name Heliodorus was common in Maresha, the capital of Idumea during the Hellenistic period. It is interesting to note that in Maresha, additional items related to the office of the agoranomos were discovered in the past, bearing the same names and dated to years close to that of the present weight.

On a weight dating twenty years earlier than the one recently seized, dated to 170/69 BCE, appears the name of an agoranomos called Apollonios.

The weight recently seized, from 148/7 BCE, bears the name Heliodoros son of Apollonios.

And on a weight and measuring vessel dated five years later (143/2 BCE), appears an agoranomos named Antipatros son of Heliodoros.

“It is well known that in the ancient world, government offices – including that of the agoranomos – often tended to pass within families, from father to son,” says Zangen. “Nevertheless, such offices did not always pass directly from father to son, and these names were not particularly rare in Maresha. There is therefore no absolute certainty that the present weight originates from this site. This hypothesis is currently being examined by the Israel Antiquities Authority. If it proves correct, it would constitute a rare and significant discovery regarding politics and administration in the ancient world.”

In the past, a well-known royal inscription in Greek dating to 178 BCE was discovered in the area of Maresha, mentioning another Heliodorus – Heliodorus the Dioiketes – the finance minister, head of the king’s council of ministers, who is also mentioned in II Maccabees 3. This Heliodorus was sent by King Seleucus IV to confiscate funds from the treasury of the Jerusalem Temple. Some scholars attribute this action as one of the causes of the Hasmonean Revolt against the Greeks.

According to Ilan Haddad, Head of Antiquities Trade Supervision at the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The removal of an archaeological artifact from its site without a proper excavation results in the loss of invaluable historical information. Had we found the artifact in its precise archaeological context, it could have enriched our historical knowledge significantly. At present, unfortunately, we can only speculate from which ancient city the item was looted and what its context was. The law prohibits antiquities dealers from purchasing artifacts from unknown sources. This constitutes a criminal offense. The Israel Antiquities Authority works to prevent looted artifacts from reaching antiquities shops, to apprehend antiquities looters in the field, and to bring them to justice.”

According to the Minister of Heritage, Rabbi Amihai Eliyahu, “The struggle against antiquities looters and the trade in antiquities helps to preserve the cultural treasures of the State of Israel. Every historical artifact enables us to piece together additional parts of the historical puzzle of the people of Israel and the Land of Israel.”