A parchment from the West Bank desert dating back to 900 years contains transcripts of a trial related to a tax evasion case.

The approximately 900-year-old text included details of forgery in documents and the illegal sale and release of slaves to avoid paying taxes to the authorities in the region roughly corresponding to present-day Israel and Jordan.

According to a report in the Kathimerini newspaper, the two culprits were both males. One was named Gadalias, who was the son of a notary with connections to local elites. In addition to convictions for robbery and fraud, he had a criminal record that included incitement to rebellion and four cases of fleeing justice. His accomplice in the tax evasion scheme was a man named Saulos, alleged to be the “mastermind” of the fraud. Although their nationalities were not explicitly stated, given their names, it is strongly suggested that they were likely Jewish.

The courtroom drama unfolded around AD 130 during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. Anna Dolganov, a historian of the Roman Empire from the Austrian Archaeological Institute who deciphered the parchment’s code, stated, “The parchment reflects the suspicion that the Romans harbored towards their Jewish subjects. It is possible that the tax evaders may have been involved in the Bar Kochba revolt that occurred a few years later (the last Jewish religious uprising against Rome).”

No one knows when or by whom the parchment was discovered, but Dr. Dolganov suggested that it was likely found by Bedouin antique dealers in the 1950s.