Evidence Entity

Pontius Pilate inscription / Pilate Stone

Latin dedicatory inscription from Caesarea naming Pontius Pilate and preserving his title as prefect of Judea. It is direct historical/administrative evidence for Pilate's office, not a manuscript witness to the Gospels.

InscriptionINSCRIPTION_PILATE_STONE

Dateca. 26–36 CEoffice-period range used conservatively for the inscription's historical context

LanguageLatin

Evidence classificationdocumented fact

Research links1explicit graph relationships

Greco-Roman contextJewish context

Identifiers

Common catalogAE 1963, 104

IAA1961-529

Provenance note

Discovered at Caesarea Maritima in 1961; the original is associated with the Israel Museum/IAA collections.

Research graph

Historical / contextual links

Has Passage Evidence RecordLuke 3:1 — Pontius Pilate’s prefecture attested epigraphicallydocumented fact

Evidence boundary: The inscription independently attests Pontius Pilate and the title prefect of Judea. It does not establish the wording, sequence, or theological interpretation of any Gospel trial narrative.