2,000-year-old Jewish rebel coin, minted decades after Jesus, unearthed in Jerusalem

The discovery was announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) on July 31, just days before Tisha B'Av - the Jewish day of mourning that marks the Romans' destruction of the Temple, near where the coin was found.

The bronze coin was minted by ancient Jews between 69 and 70 A.D. The IAA said it was found near the southwest corner of the Temple Mount.

The coin was discovered by Yaniv David Levy, a coin specialist with the IAA, who described its state of preservation as "quite good."

"Next to it are two etrogs, the citron used in that same ritual."

He noted, "The [Year Four] inscription denotes the number of years since the outbreak of the rebellion and allows us to accurately date the coin to the period between the Hebrew month of Nissan (March-April) of the year 69 CE, and the month of Adar (February-March) of the year 70 CE."

"From the looks of it, [we thought] it might be a rare coin," Rakow-Mellet recalled.

"We waited anxiously for several days until it came back from cleaning, and it turned out that it was a greeting from the Jewish rebels in Year Four of the Great Revolt."

She also noted the striking timing of the discovery, just days before Tisha B'Av.

The IAA noted that Year Four coins are "relatively rare," since they were minted toward the end of the revolt when rebels had reduced production capabilities.

Excavation director Yuval Baruch said the coin's inscription "indicates a profound change of identity and mindset, and perhaps also reflects the desperate situation of the rebel forces."

"It would seem that in the rebellion's fourth year, the mood of the rebels now besieged in Jerusalem changed from euphoria and anticipation of freedom at hand, to a dispirited mood and a yearning for redemption," the archaeologist observed.

Fox News Digital's Ashley DiMella contributed reporting.