The Pilate Stone is a limestone block measuring about 32” × 27”. It dates from around 26–36 C.E. In parts of its inscription can be read the name of Pontius Pilate. The stone was discovered in the 1960s by archaeologists excavating a first-century B.C.E. theater in the town of Caesarea (known now as Caesarea Maritima). The stone was in an unexpected place. The archaeologists found it built into a staircase, apparently repurposed during fourth-century C.E. renovations.