It is an incredibly rare coin that may have been minted to fund the Jewish revolt against the Romans and bears the inscription “Holy Jerusalem”.  

But now the silver piece which had lain undisturbed for centuries has been uncovered by an 11-year-old girl working on an archaeological dig in Jerusalem.

Liel Krutokop was shocked to discover the ancient shekel that was created two millennia ago.

She found the pure silver piece while working on the Emek Tzurim sifting project at the City of David National Park, the Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority said on Tuesday. 

Leil said: “When I got to Emek Tzurim I thought there must be simple coins in the buckets, but I did not think I would find a coin myself, and certainly not such a rare coin from pure silver.

“I was lucky to find it, but I also want to say thank you to my sister for choosing the bucket we sifted. If she had not chosen this particular bucket, I probably would not have found the coin.”

Experts believe the silver piece may have been minted before the destruction of the Second Temple by a priest who had rebelled against the Romans.

Dr Robert Kool, who heads the Israel Antiquities Authorities’ coin department, estimated that out of thousands of coins which have been excavated from the period in the area, only 30 were made of silver.

Carved on one side of the 14g item is a cup and the inscription “Israeli shekel” and “second year” in what archaeologists believe is a reference to the second year of the Great Revolt.

An ancient Hebrew script on the back reads: “Holy Jerusalem”.

“A currency is a sign of sovereignty. If you go into rebellion, you use one of the most obvious symbols of independence, and you mint coins. The inscription on the coin clearly expresses the rebels' aspirations,” explained Dr Kool.