The Spoils of Jerusalem on the Arch of Titus: Pigment Analysis and the Fate of Temple Treasures

In June of 71 CE, the streets of Rome bore witness to one of the most extravagant spectacles of military dominance in the ancient world: the joint triumph of Vespasian and his son Titus. Following the brutal suppression of the First Jewish-Roman War and the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, the victorious Flavian dynasty paraded the sacred vessels of the Judean temple through the Roman Forum. This monumental event was immortalized in the passageway relief of the Arch of Titus, erected shortly after his death in 81 CE. For centuries, this relief has stood as a monochromatic testament to Judea's subjugation. However, modern archaeological science, utilizing non-invasive pigment analysis, has begun to restore the vivid, multi-colored reality of this ancient propaganda piece, while casting new light on the historical trajectory of the looted treasures.

The Iconography of the Spoils

The southern panel of the arch's passageway depicts Roman soldiers carrying the sacred spoils of the Jerusalem Temple on wooden litters (fercula). Three primary objects dominate the relief: the seven-branched golden Menorah, the Table of Showbread (upon which the showbread was placed), and the sacred silver trumpets. The depiction of these objects closely aligns with the eyewitness accounts of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in his work, The Jewish War.

"But for those that were taken in the temple of Jerusalem, they made the greatest figure of them all; that is, the golden table, of the weight of many talents; the candlestick also, that was made of gold, though its construction was now changed from that which we made use of." — Flavius Josephus, The Jewish War, VII.148-150

The Menorah carved on the arch features a polygonal, double-tiered octagonal base decorated with mythological sea monsters (hippocamps and eagles). This base has long puzzled historians and theologians, as traditional Jewish depictions of the Menorah do not feature such pagan imagery. Most scholars suggest that either the original base was damaged during transit and repaired by Roman artisans, or the artists stylized the base to reflect contemporary Roman design principles rather than strict Judean orthodoxy.

Polychromy and Pigment Analysis of the Relief

In 2012, an international team of researchers from the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies, in collaboration with the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma, conducted high-resolution three-dimensional scanning and non-invasive spectrometry on the Arch of Titus. Their objective was to detect traces of ancient pigments that once coated the marble surface, a phenomenon known as polychromy.

The Discovery of Yellow Ochre

Using Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) reflectance spectroscopy, scientists targeted areas of the relief that had been shielded from the elements. The analysis revealed distinct chemical signatures of yellow ochre on the branches and base of the Menorah. This organic pigment, composed of hydrated iron oxide, was used in antiquity as an undercoat or a direct representation of gold.

• Visual Impact: The presence of yellow ochre confirms that the Menorah was painted to appear brilliantly golden, contrasting sharply against the blue or white background of the sky and the garments of the Roman soldiers.
• The Soldiers' Attire: Traces of other pigments suggest that the soldiers wore white tunics with purple stripes (clavi), and the laurel wreaths they wore were painted green, creating an immersive, lifelike representation of the triumphal procession.
• Preservation: The survival of these microscopic pigment particles, despite nearly two millennia of exposure to pollution and weathering, provides a direct physical link to the sensory experience of ancient Roman citizens viewing the monument.

The Historical Fate of the Temple Treasures

While pigment analysis reconstructs how the spoils were visualized in Rome, historical and archaeological records allow us to trace the physical journey of the actual gold and silver vessels after the triumph of 71 CE.

The Temple of Peace (Templum Pacis)

Following the triumph, Vespasian constructed a massive complex known as the Temple of Peace (or Forum of Vespasian) to celebrate the stabilization of the empire. According to Josephus, the golden Menorah and the Table of Showbread were deposited in this temple as symbols of Roman victory and the pacification of the province of Judaea Capta. They remained on public display there for nearly three centuries, representing the ultimate subjugation of the Jewish god to the Roman pantheon.

The Vandal Sack of Rome (455 CE)

The relative security of the Temple of Peace ended in the 5th century. In 191 CE, a devastating fire damaged parts of the Forum, but historical sources imply the treasures survived. The true disruption occurred in 455 CE when the Vandals, led by King Geiseric, systematically sacked Rome. The late antique historian Procopius of Caesarea records that the Vandals stripped the city of its wealth, specifically mentioning the "treasures of the Jews" being loaded onto ships bound for Carthage in North Africa.

The Byzantine Recovery and the Journey to Constantinople

In 533 CE, the Byzantine emperor Justinian I dispatched his brilliant general Belisarius to reconquer North Africa from the Vandals. Belisarius was victorious, and the spoils of Carthage—including the Jerusalem treasures—were brought to Constantinople. Procopius describes another triumph, this time in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, where the Menorah and other sacred vessels were paraded once again.

"And there were also the treasures of the Jews, which Titus, the son of Vespasian, together with others, had brought to Rome after the capture of Jerusalem." — Procopius, History of the Wars, IV.9.5-9

The Return to Jerusalem and Ultimate Disappearance

According to Procopius, a prominent Jewish advisor warned Justinian that these treasures possessed a curse, pointing out that Rome had fallen and Carthage had been conquered because they held the sacred vessels of the Temple. Heeding this warning, Justinian allegedly sent the treasures back to Jerusalem, where they were distributed among various Christian holy sites, most notably the newly constructed Nea Church (New Church of the Theotokos) or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

It is at this juncture, in the mid-6th century CE, that the historical trail of the Temple spoils goes cold. When the Sasanian Empire sacked Jerusalem in 614 CE, or during the subsequent Arab conquest in 637 CE, the treasures disappeared from the historical record. Whether they were melted down, buried in secret chambers beneath Jerusalem, or carried away to Ctesiphon remains one of biblical archaeology's greatest unsolved mysteries.

Conclusion: Science Restores History

The Arch of Titus serves as a crucial bridge between textual history and physical reality. The integration of modern chemical analysis with classical historiography transforms our understanding of this monument. It was not merely a cold marble arch, but a vivid, colorful manifestation of imperial power. By identifying the yellow ochre that once made the sculpted Menorah shine, science has restored the original, blinding brilliance of the spoils of Jerusalem, keeping the memory of the lost Temple treasures alive in the modern consciousness.