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Published: Haaretz.com By Nadav Shragai

The Bible and other Jewish sources are full of details about the priests and high priests, from the descriptions of their garments as described in the Book of Exodus, to the number of high priests who served in the First and Second Temples. Now archaeology is providing new evidence to show the institution indeed existed: a fragment from the lid of a sarcophagus, bearing the inscription "son of the high priest" in a Second Temple-era script.

The fragment was found north of Jerusalem, near Nebi Samuel, in a salvage excavation conducted by the Civil Administration to prepare for the separation fence. The fragment is 1,900 years old and predates the 70 C.E. destruction of the Second Temple by a few decades, archaeologists Naftali Aizik and Benyamin Hareven found.

The existence of a similar fragment, bearing the inscription, "the granddaughter of the High Priest Theopilus," was made public about 15 years ago, but while it is believed to be authentic, its original location is unknown.

During the Second Temple period, the high priest’s rituals were an integral part of the Yom Kippur service. The Mishnah, in Tractate Yoma, describes the tremendous preparations that the high priest made, starting seven days before Yom Kippur. When the holy day arrived, he would enter the Holy of Holies (for the only time in the whole year), offer incense and pray for the forgiveness of the sins of the Jewish people. According to the description, this ritual was so dangerous that the high priest ran the risk of dying in the process.

The position of high priest is first mentioned in Exodus, and Aharon, Moses’ brother, was the first high priest. At the beginning of the Second Temple period, the high priests also served as leaders of the people. One of the most famous was Simon the Just, who headed the Great Assembly, the highest institution of Jewish sages in the Second Temple period.

The status of the high priest declined when foreign rulers began interfering in the appointments, and King Herod’s ascent to the throne in the first century B.C.E. heralded the end of the institution. The Babylonian Talmud tells that in the First Temple period there were about 18 high priests, and in the Second Temple period, no fewer than 300. The Jerusalem Talmud mentions a far lower number of 80-85 high priests.

At the excavation site, public and residential buildings, agricultural installations, pools and cisterns were also unearthed, dating from the Second Temple period to the early Muslim period. The archaeologists believe this was the site of the estate of a high priest who served at the Temple in Jerusalem.

"It is reasonable to imagine the high priest’s son died somehow, while his father was serving as the high priest," said an Antiquities Authority source.

Incidentally, the fragment of the sarcophagus cover was not discovered at the estate itself, but rather outside. It apparently was moved about a thousand years ago and used to construct a later Muslim building that was built on the ruins of the Second Temple-era houses.