Pontius Pilate

According to historical tradition, Pontius Pilate was a knight of the equestrian order of the Samnite clan Pontii (hence his Latin name, Pontius Pilatus); that is, a member of the lesser Roman aristocracy as opposed to the senatorial order.

In 1961, during an archaeological excavation campaign, an Italian mission led by A. Frova of the Lombard Institute of Science and Letters was prospecting the Roman theater at Caesarea Maritime, built by Herod the Great. They uncovered an inscription bearing the name Pontius Pilate. 

To this day, it remains the only known mention of the man who is ultimately responsible to history for the trial and death of Jesus.