Chronicle (1966)

Scrolls from the Son of a Star (1976x2)

: 12, 1976

Some 60 years after the Roman Emperor Titus destroyed the Temple at Jerusalem in AD 70, the Jews revolted again. Their leader was a man called Bar Kokhba, which means 'Son of a Star.' Eventually he was defeated and killed in the siege at Bethar. Though he was a great hero, he remained a purely legendary figure to the Jews, until 1960. In that year an archaeological expedition under GENERAL YADIN explored a desert cave in a sheer cliff face, and there discovered scrolls hidden by two of Bar Kokhba's commanders. They were actually written by Bar Kokhba himself: appeals for help and food and instructions about the revolt. Over the centuries they give a vivid picture of the 'King Messiah' and of his revolt. This programme tells the story of the search for, and finding of, these unique historical documents.