Posted on 10/30/2011, 8:11:49 PM by markomalley
A tiny, exquisitely made box found on an excavated street in Jerusalem is a token of Christian faith from 1,400 years ago, Israeli archaeologists said Sunday.
The box, carved from the bone of a cow, horse or camel, decorated with a cross on the lid and measuring only 0.8 inches by 0.6 inches (2 centimeter by 1.5 centimeter), was likely carried by a Christian believer around the end of the 6th century A.D, according to Yana Tchekhanovets of the Israel Antiquities Authority, one of the directors of the dig where the box was found.
When the lid is removed, the remains of two portraits are still visible in paint and gold leaf. The figures, a man and a woman, are probably Christian saints and possibly Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
The box was found in an excavation outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City in the remains of a Byzantine-era thoroughfare, she said. Uncovered two years ago, it was treated by preservation experts and extensively researched before it was unveiled at an archaeological conference last week.
(Excerpt) Read more at old.news.yahoo.com ...
Perhaps of interest...
It’s so cool to find ancient relics and artifacts.
"I was wondering where I lost that..."
That’s a waste of lipstick.
“That’s a waste of lipstick”
Yep, you can put all the lipstick and perfume on it and it is still a .........
Not a trick Q, an honest inquirey
A Crucifix has an image of the Crucified Christ on it, a Cross does not.
A long article about it is in the Catholic Encyclopedia. Read it for yourself: bottom line is between the 6th and 8th centuries.
My question was to question the assumption of the images.
If it is Jesus and Mary, it is Catholic and thus (should) use(s) a crucifix instead of a cross.
The cross was a means of execution during the Roman era. It became a crucifix when a criminal was nailed of hung from the cross to carry out the death penalty. I would become a sign of Christianity after you know who was nailed to the cross.
the day that Christ was nailed to it
According to the article, ISRAELI archaeologists say TWO pictures AND
" When the lid is removed, the remains of two portraits are still visible in paint and gold leaf. The figures, a man and a woman, are probably Christian saints and possibly Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
The TWO are "probably" two saints (afaik, beatification hadn't been practiced at that time, thus saints would be biblical believers), and "possibly" Mary and Jesus, two particularly Catholic figures, but the box has a cross not a crucifix
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and the images are a piece of cake?
1,400 years? The owner might have known Jesus himself!
One is the Cross of the Crucifiction, it depicts Jesus suffering upon the cross. The empty cross is the Cross of the Resurrection. It is the cross after Jesus suffered, died, was laid in the grave and arose to live again. He has risen.
I’ve probably seen that picture a thousand times, but I still get a neck-tweaking pisschill each time...
When the Catholic church was established in 107 A.D. by St. Ignatius.
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