Pontius Pilate inscription / Pilate Stone

Evidence state: documented fact

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.

Release Introduced

v50

Curation State

CURATED_CATALOG_ENTITY

Short Title

Pilate Stone

Evidence Classification

documented fact

Date Range

{
    "start_ce": 26,
    "end_ce": 36,
    "label": "ca. 26–36 CE",
    "certainty": "office-period range used conservatively for the inscription's historical context"
}

Languages

[
    "Latin"
]

Tradition Contexts

[
    "GRECO_ROMAN_CONTEXT",
    "JEWISH_CONTEXT"
]

Identifiers

[
    {
        "scheme": "Common catalog",
        "value": "AE 1963, 104"
    },
    {
        "scheme": "IAA",
        "value": "1961-529"
    }
]

Provenance Note

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

Source Ids

[
    "SRC_IMJ_PILATE_INSCRIPTION"
]

Rights

{
    "image_state": "LINK_ONLY",
    "inscription_text_state": "METADATA_ONLY_PENDING_EDITION_REVIEW",
    "local_host_state": "METADATA_ONLY"
}

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.