From the mix of heritage, history and holiness that lies below the surface of Jerusalem, archeologists have found a small gold ring that dates back about 2,300 years to the era when Greek civilization spread across the Holy Land.
“It is an unusual and deeply moving find; not one that we discover every day,” the archaeological team said, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The gold ring was set with a garnet and was well-preserved when it was found.
Tehiya Gangate, who worked on the City of David excavation, found the ring.
🌟 3,000 years of history
🌟 16 civilizations revealed
🌟 15 years of excavation
🌟 1 place where it all began. The Givati Parking Lot Excavation in the #CityofDavid
📸 Koby Harati, City of David Archive pic.twitter.com/n618lYJw9n
— City of David Ancient Jerusalem (@cityofdavid) March 3, 2021
“I immediately yelled, ‘I found a ring, I found a ring!’” she said.
“Within seconds, everyone gathered around me, and there was great excitement. This is an emotionally moving find. I always wanted to find gold jewelry, and I am very happy this dream came true — literally a week before I went on maternity leave.”
Child-size gold ring found in Jerusalem’s City of David from 2,300 years ago / @ruthschuster https://t.co/KDtzX865ph
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) May 28, 2024
The Post noted that gold jewelry was not uncommon in the Hellenistic period, after the conquests of Alexander the Great, who died in 323 B.C.
Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University said the find and others are changing the way historical Jerusalem is perceived, according to the Times of Israel.
“The character of the buildings and now, of course, the gold finds and other discoveries display the city’s healthy economy and even its elite status,” Gadot said.
“It certainly seems that the city’s residents were open to the widespread Hellenistic style and influences prevalent also in the eastern Mediterranean Basin.”
“The ring is very small. It would fit a woman’s pinky, or a young girl or boy’s finger,” Israel Antiquities Authority Excavation Directors Yiftah Shalev and Riki Zalut Har-tov said, according to an Israeli Antiquities Authority post on Instagram.
The post quoted expert Dr. Marion Zindel as saying the ring was made by “hammering thin pre-cut gold leaves onto a metal ring base.”
“Stylistically it reflects the common fashion of the Persian and Early Hellenistic periods, dating from the late 4th to early 3rd century BCE and onwards. In that period people began to prefer gold with set stones rather than decorated gold,” the post said.
Would you like to visit Jerusalem?
“The recently found gold ring joins other ornaments of the early Hellenistic period found in the City of David excavations, including the horned-animal earring and the decorated gold bead,” Gadot and excavator Efrat Bocher said, according to Haaretz.
The ring will be on public display in June, the Times reported.
