Pilate Stone

The Pilate Stone is a damaged Latin inscription found in Caesarea Maritima, the Roman administrative capital of Judea. It names Pontius Pilate as the Roman prefect/governor of Judea and says he dedicated a building or structure called a Tiberieum, probably in honor of Emperor Tiberius. This is important because it is the strongest archaeological evidence for Pilate outside written texts, confirming that he was a real Roman official ruling Judea during the Second Temple period. It also shows the Roman political setting of Judea shortly before the destruction of the Second Temple.