Archaeologists find the oldest Christian artifact north of the Alps in a Roman tomb
Kyiv • UNN
An 1800-year-old silver amulet with a Christian inscription was discovered in Frankfurt. The discovery may change the way we think about the spread of Christianity in Europe, as it is 50 years older than previous artifacts.
An extraordinary archaeological discovery in Germany could overturn previous research on the spread of Christianity.
UNN writes with reference to Hessischer Rundfunk.
Details
During the excavation of a Roman tomb in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, archaeologists discovered a 3.5 cm silver amulet that looks like a twisted thin silver foil with a mysterious engraving on it. The small inscription on the find has an 18-line content: it was deciphered using the latest computer tomography technology. It was deciphered by Markus Scholz of Goethe University Frankfurt.
According to the researchers, the inscription clearly indicates that the owner of the silver amulet was a devout Christian. Moreover, it turns out that this amulet, according to the researchers, is the oldest evidence of early Christianity that has been found north of the Alps. Previous evidence of Christian life in the northern Alpine part of the Roman Empire dates back to the 4th century.
According to the statement, all previous finds are at least 50 years younger. Reliable evidence of Christian life in the northern alpine regions of the Roman empire usually came only from the IV century AD.
Regarding the new discovery, experts point out that it is "completely unusual" for the time period.
Usually such inscriptions on amulets were written in Greek or Hebrew
The text of the inscription on the amulet:
"In the name of?) of Saint Titus.
Holy, holy, holy!
In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
The Lord of the World
resists
all attacks(?)/failures(?) with [strength?
God(?) gives
access to well-being.
This means of escape (?) protects
man,
which gives itself to the will
The Lord Jesus Christ, Son Of God,
for before Jesus Christ
Every knee shall bow, even the knees of heaven,
and earthly, and
underground, and every tongue
confesses (Jesus Christ)"
Frankfurt Mayor Mike Josef is enthusiastic:
The first Christian discovery north of the Alps comes from our city: we can be proud of it
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The capsule with the amulet was found in 2018 in northwestern Frankfurt on the territory of the Roman city of Nida, the predecessor city of modern Frankfurt.
This is one of the largest and most important archaeological sites in Hesse, writes FAZ.
The silver amulet was found in a third-century Roman burial at the heilmannstrasse Cemetery in Frankfurt-Praunheim; it was found on the neck of a skeletonized corpse.
