A new analysis of a small copper-alloy ring excavated at Herodium proposes that its unusual Greek lettering may refer to Pontius Pilate, while suggesting that the object was probably worn by someone who worked within the administrative network of Roman Judea rather than by the governor himself.
The ring was recovered during excavations in the 1960s and remained in storage for more than five decades. Its existence became widely known in 2018, when Israeli scholars described the object and dated it to about 2,000 years ago. The inscription, ΠΙΛΑΤΟ, appears beside an engraved pottery vessel.
Catherine Bonesho, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, presents the latest interpretation in an article published in Palestine Exploration Quarterly. She argues that the inscription represents the Latin form PILATO written using Greek letters. In Latin, that form can mean “for Pilate” or “to Pilate.”
The spelling is central to the debate. An earlier interpretation proposed that ΠΙΛΑΤΟ was intended to mean “belonging to Pilate,” but that it was missing the Greek upsilon expected in the transliteration of the Latin genitive form PILATI. A 2023 study instead argued that the letters on either side of the vessel represented two separate words and that the ring was unrelated to Pilate.
Bonesho’s explanation focuses on the final vowel. The Latin dative form PILATO would conventionally be represented in Greek with an omega, ΠΙΛΑΤΩ, rather than an omicron, Ο. She suggests that a craftsperson with limited knowledge of Latin could have retained the visually similar omicron when transferring the Latin name into Greek. The lettering may have been split into two groups because the vessel had already been engraved, or because a defect limited the available space. The second group’s rotated orientation may also reflect an attempt to fit the remaining letters onto the ring.
According to the analysis, the ring may have been used to press Pilate’s name into wax or clay seals on materials sent to Pilate or his associates. Its copper-alloy construction, rather than gold or a gem-set design, points—tentatively—to a wearer of lower social status. Bonesho also notes that the vessel motif was common in Judea and may support the possibility that the user was a local Judean worker.
The proposed interpretation does not identify the ring’s owner. Instead, it offers a possible glimpse of enslaved or formerly enslaved personnel and other lower-level workers involved in the administration of Roman Judea.
