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Archaeologists have discovered an inscribed silver amulet that one theologian now says could rewrite the history of Christianity north of the Alps.
An inscribed amulet was found buried in a grave in Frankfurt, Germany in 2018. according to a press release from the city. The amulet is just over an inch in size, the city said, with an inscribed thin silver foil rolled up inside. It took years to determine what the inscription said: it had to be deciphered by computer scanning because the foil was too fragile to unroll. The so-called “Frankfurt Silver Sign” was presented to the public in early December.
The inscription was found to be a declaration of faith in Jesus Christ, written in Latin. The statement shows the wearer “was clearly a devout Christian, which is absolutely unusual for this time,” the city said.
The researchers dated the grave in which the amulet was found between 230 and 270 AD. This is the earliest evidence of Christianity north of the Alps, the city said: All other sites are several decades younger, with “reliable evidence” of the religion in the region dating back to the 4th century.
Leibniz Institute for Archeology in Mainz
The inscription does not mention any religion other than Christianity, which the researchers said was unusual. Until the 5th century, this type of amulet “always contained a mixture of different faiths”, such as Judaism or paganism. Instead, it is based entirely on Christianity. At one point, the call “Holy, holy, holy!” is present. Researchers previously dated that call to no earlier than the 4th century. The amulet also contained quotations from the Bible used by Christians at that time.
“The ‘Frankfurt inscription’ is a scientific sensation,” Mayor Mike Josef said in a translated statement. “This will force us to retrace the history of Christianity in Frankfurt and far beyond in about 50 to 100 years. The first Christian discovery north of the Alps comes from our city: we can be proud of that, especially now, so close to Christmas. Those involved have done are a great job.”
The researchers said the discovery will lead to a re-evaluation of the cemetery where the amulet was discovered. It will also lead to a revision of ideas about Christianity north of the Alps.
German church historian Ulrich Volp he told the Evangelical Press Service that the amulet can be used to understand how Christianity spread through the Roman Empire in the 3rd century, even in the midst of persecution.
“The significance of the discovery can hardly be overstated,” Volp said.
The news comes about six months after experts in Germany said a newly deciphered 1,600-year-old manuscript had been identified the oldest record of the childhood of Jesus Christ.
