The most well-documented Roman legal case: a 1900-year-old scroll has emerged as a significant document.

Recently, researchers deciphered a 1900-year-old scroll discovered in the Judean Desert. It turned out to be a Roman document detailing a fraud case that occurred shortly before the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-135 AD), writes Arkeonews.

The papyrus, which has been housed in the Israeli Antiquities Authority since the 1950s, was initially misclassified as a Nabataean document. This scroll, written in Greek, is now recognized as the longest legal text of its kind found in the Judean Desert.

Dr. Anna Dolganova from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, who led the further research, stated: "We are talking about an extraordinary papyrus from many perspectives."

It contains notes from a prosecutor preparing for a trial regarding the fraud case, as well as transcripts of court sessions overseen by a Roman official. Scholars believe that the case involved two Jewish defendants, Saul and Gedaliah, who may have been connected to events leading up to the Jewish revolt against Roman rule.

Hanna Cotton Palti'el, an emeritus professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, identified the true origin of the document in 2014 while reviewing archives at the Israeli Antiquities Authority. The researcher explained that she was sorting through papyri, "...and when I saw that they were written in 'Nabataean language,' I exploded: 'To me, this is Greek!'

This discovery sparked further research, leading to a collaboration among Dr. Anna Dolganova, Professor Fritz Mittoff from the University of Vienna, Cotton Palti'el, and Dr. Avner Ecker from the Hebrew University, published in Tyche.

The document, named "Cotton Papyrus" in honor of the researcher, contains 133 lines of legal notes from the time of Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD). It details a fraud case in which Saul and Gedaliah allegedly forged documents related to the sale and emancipation of slaves to evade taxes. As Dr. Ecker stated: "This is the most documented Roman court case from Judea, except for the trial of Jesus."

Under Roman law, crimes such as forgery and tax fraud were punishable by harsh penalties, including forced labor or death. The papyrus also includes hastily written court protocols and notes exchanged between prosecutors, but key details such as the trial's location and the legal status of the defendants remain unclear due to missing parts of the scroll.

Besides its legal implications, this document contributes to the discussion of slavery in ancient Hebrew society. The text suggests that Saul and his father owned several slaves, although it is unclear whether they were Jewish.

The fate of the court case remains unknown, as it may have been interrupted by the Bar Kokhba revolt, possibly causing its owner to leave the papyrus in the caves of the Judean Desert, where it lay for nearly 2000 years.

This discovery provides valuable evidence about ancient legal systems and social structures in Jewish communities during Roman rule. "The documentation gives us a rare insight into Roman judicial procedures and how the legal system operated in the Eastern provinces of the empire," noted Professor Mittoff.

We also reported on how coins became a tool of propaganda. Though this idea seems new, money has been a tool of power long before modern rulers.