Tel Aviv, Aug. 1 -- A rare bronze coin bearing the inscription "For the Redemption of Zion" has been discovered during archaeological excavations near Jerusalem's Temple Mount, shedding new light on the final days before the destruction of the Second Temple, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Thursday.

"The coin that was found - 'For the Redemption of Zion' - truly expresses the longing throughout the generations for redemption, for revival, for a free Jerusalem," said Israeli Minister of Heritage Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu. "Two thousand years later, we are privileged to discover this evidence in excavations in Jerusalem; another moving testimony that our roots here run so deep, they cannot be uprooted."

The announcement came ahe...