ALMOST 2000-YEAR-OLD AMULET COULD REWRITE THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
An item discovered in a German grave, according to archaeologists, predates all known Christian artefacts from the area by fifty years. Experts travelled to Frankfurt's northwest suburbs in 2017–2018, where the ancient Roman town of Nida once stood. According to Archeology News, they discovered a cemetery with 127 graves on the outskirts of the German city. According to what is known, the experts were especially interested in a grave where the remains of a man who was believed to be between the ages of 35 and 40 were interred between A.D. 230 and 270.
Alongside an incense burner and pottery, the researchers discovered a piece of wafer-thin, small, rolled silver foil resting below his chin. This item measures just 1.4 inches (3.5 centimetres) and was likely worn like an amulet. Since then, it has been categorized as a phylactery, which is an item that is thought to protect its owner. The goal of these amulets, according to Dr Tine Rassalle, an independent biblical archaeologist who was not involved in the study, "was to protect or heal their owners from a range of misfortunes, such as illnesses, bodily aches, infertility, or even demonic forces," Live Science reported.
"These items were essential sources of comfort and security for you and your loved ones in an era without sophisticated medical knowledge."
The expert claims that wearable technology was widely used in Late Antiquity, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean region.
According to the Library of Congress Research Guides, depending on the location, this period roughly corresponds to the late third century to the seventh century. She added, "[But the amulets] are much rarer in the western Roman world." "This amulet's discovery in Germany indicates that Christian concepts had already started to spread beyond the early centres of Christianity's expansion."
The amulet-like object has been digitally "unrolled" at the Leibniz Center for Archaeology (LEIZA) in Mainz using state-of-the-art computer technology.
"The challenge in the analysis was that the silver sheet was rolled, but after around 1,800 years, it was of course also creased and pressed," said Ivan Calandra, an archaeologist at LEIZA, about the laborious procedure. We were able to produce a 3D model by using CT to scan it at a very high resolution. Professor Markus Scholz, an archaeologist from Goethe University in Frankfurt, has since deciphered the 18 lines of text that the process uncovered and named the Frankfurt Silver Inscription.
Professor Scholz stated, "I brought in specialists from the history of theology, among others, and we approached the text together, piece by piece, and finally deciphered it." He added that the ‘purely Christian’ amulet showed that the man had been ‘devout’ in his faith.