The limestone block was discovered in June 1961 by Italian archaeologist Maria Teresa Fortuna Canivet during a campaign led by Dr. Antonio Frova while excavating in the area of an ancient theatre built by decree of Herod the Great around 22–10 BC, along with the entire city of Caesarea.

The artifact is a fragment of the dedicatory inscription of a later building, probably a temple, that was constructed, possibly in honour of the emperor Tiberius,[2][3] dating to AD 26 to 36.

[4] The stone was then reused in the 4th century as a building block for a set of stairs belonging to a structure erected behind the stage house of the Herodian theatre, where archaeologists discovered it, still attached to the ancient staircase.

It is likely that Pontius Pilate made his base at Caesarea Maritima, the site where the stone was discovered, since that city had replaced Jerusalem as the administrative capital and military headquarters of the province in AD 6.

It has been deemed authentic because it was discovered in the coastal town of Caesarea, which was the capital of Iudaea Province[8] during the time Pontius Pilate was Roman governor.