Mysterious 1,800-year-old silver amulet discovered in Germany could rewrite the history of Christianity in Europe
It was last read by man 1,800 years ago, when Christianity was considered a growing sect.
Now scientists have finally deciphered the ‘Frankfurt Silver Inscription’: an 18-line engraving on a thin piece of foil, housed in a protective amulet.
The 1,800-year-old silver amulet, which measured 3.5cm in length, was found along with the skeleton of a man in a cemetery on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany.
Researchers have used CT scans to digitally unroll the ‘wafer-thin’ foil and read the inscription inside it for the first time since the 3rd century AD.
Incredibly, the text represents the oldest known evidence of Christianity north of the Alps, dating to the period between 230 and 270 AD, scientists say.
At that time, Christianity was still spreading across Europe from its historical origins in Judea in the Middle East.
The Latin text, described as ‘purely Christian’, refers to Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, and to Saint Titus, an early Christian missionary and church leader.
Scroll down for the full translation – never before read by 21st century people until now.
The mysterious 1,800-year-old silver amulet was discovered in Germany in 2018, but scientists have finally read the inscription inside
The 1,800-year-old silver amulet, which measured 1.2 inches (3.5 cm) long, was found among the remains of a man who died in the 3rd century AD
The stunning findings were led by the Leibniz Center for Archeology (LEIZA) in Mainz and published by the city of Frankfurt.
“The challenge with the analysis was that the silver sheet was rolled, but after about 1,800 years it was of course also folded and pressed,” says Ivan Calandra, archaeologist at LEIZA.
‘Using CT we were able to scan it at a very high resolution and create a 3D model of it.’
The silver amulet was discovered in 2018 in the northwest of Frankfurt in the former Roman city of Nida, a predecessor of modern-day Frankfurt.
It comes from the grave of a man who was also buried with an incense bowl and a jar made of fired clay – possibly personal belongings of the individual.
The amulet was placed under the man’s chin and experts believe he once wore it on a cord around his neck to provide protection in the afterlife.
Crucially, the man’s grave is dated between 230 and 270 AD – at a time when Christianity was a steadily growing sect but still subject to persecution.
At that time, the predominant religions were Judaism and paganism – and it was a risk to reveal yourself as a Christian.
Researchers have used CT scans to ‘digitally unwind’ the foil and read the inscription for the first time since the 3rd century AD
The beautiful ornament comes from a man’s grave, dated between 230 and 270 AD
Pictured: digital scan of the thin foil with the sacred inscription
The deciphering of the 18 lines of text was led by Professor Markus Scholz, an archaeologist from Goethe University in Frankfurt.
The wafer-thin silver foil itself is too brittle and vulnerable to simply roll up due to the long time in the ground.
It would fall apart if attempts were made to roll it out, so the team at LEIZA used an X-ray imaging procedure called computed tomography.
They placed the individual segments of the scan together virtually piece by piece until the words were visible – although there are still gaps in the text.
“I called in experts from the history of theology, among others, and together we approached the text piece by piece and ultimately deciphered it,” says Professor Scholz.
Apart from the fact that the wearer of the amulet was clearly a devout Christian, what is also unusual is that the inscription is written entirely in Latin.
“Such inscriptions in amulets were usually written in Greek or Hebrew,” Professor Scholz added.
Moreover, until the 5th century, these types of precious metal amulets always contained a mixture of different religions, such as Judaism or pagan influences.
The Roman Empire was a vast territorial empire that existed between 27 B.C. and 476 AD, spread across Europe and North Africa, with Rome as its center. This map highlights the Roman Empire in red at its greatest extent (117 AD)
The Latin text refers to Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, and to Saint Titus, an early Christian missionary and church leader (shown here)
But the experts describe this amulet as ‘purely Christian’ because it contains no pagan references such as demons or elements of Judaism.
Neither Yahweh, the Almighty God of Judaism, nor the archangels Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, or Suriel are mentioned, nor are any of Israel’s ancestors such as Isaac or Jacob mentioned.
Ultimately, the biggest surprise is the location and age of the amulet and the man, who clearly valued his Christian faith so much that he took it with him to the grave.
Such early, authentic evidence (between 230 and 270 AD) of pure Christianity north of the Alps has never existed until now.
Experts consider him the ‘first Christian north of the Alps’, although the fact that this individual exists suggests that there could be more historic Christian cemeteries across Europe yet to be discovered.
Frankfurt Mayor Mike Josef called the inscription “a scientific sensation.”
“It will force us to turn back the history of Christianity in Frankfurt and far beyond by some fifty to a hundred years,” he said.
‘The first Christian find north of the Alps comes from our city. We can be proud of that, especially now so close to Christmas.’
Dr. Ina Hartwig, head of culture and science in Frankfurt, said: ‘This extraordinary find has an impact on many areas of research and will keep science busy for a long time.
‘This has consequences for archeology as well as for religious studies, philology and anthropology. Such an important find here in Frankfurt is truly something extraordinary.’