The governor’s stone
Every Gospel names Pontius Pilate as the Roman prefect who condemned Jesus. In 1961, archaeologists at Caesarea found his name carved in limestone, in a dedication to the emperor Tiberius. It is the only inscription from his lifetime that names him, and it confirms his title and his rule exactly where the Gospels place him.
[PON]TIVS PILATVS [PRAEF]ECTVS IVDA[EA]E: “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judaea”