Mysterious amulet discovered in Germany could rewrite history

A third century amulet discovered in an excavation site in Germany provides evidence of spread of Christianity during early Roman Empire

Archaeologists have uncovered a nearly 1,800-year-old silver amulet in Germany, providing the earliest evidence of Christianity north of the Alps.

The artifact, known as the “Frankfurt Silver Inscription”, was discovered during a 2017-18 excavation after the researchers digitally unrolled a tiny scroll inside the amulet, revealing an unusual Latin inscription.

It will likely help historians understand how Christianity was practised in the early Roman Empire. Measuring 1.4 inches, the amulet contains a wafer-thin sheet of silver foil that was rolled up tightly.

It was discovered in the grave of a man aged between 25 and 35 buried in a cemetery in the Heilmannstraße area, on the outskirts of Frankfurt. The man likely wore the amulet on a cord around his neck, concluded the researchers, as it was found just below his chin.

The purpose of such amulets, also known as phylacteries, “was to protect or heal their owners from a range of misfortunes, such as illnesses, bodily aches, infertility, or even demonic forces”, Tine Rassale, an independent biblical archaeologist not directly involved in the research, told LiveScience.

"In an era without advanced medical knowledge, such items were vital sources of comfort and security for you and your loved ones,” she added. Since the use of these amulets was rarer in the Western Roman world, its discovery in Germany “suggests that Christian ideas had already begun to penetrate areas far from Christianity’s early centers of growth”.

Experts at the Leibniz Center for Archaeology (Leiza) in Mainz spent several years conserving, restoring and analysing the artifact after its discovery, before sharing the findings in a statement on 11 December.

“The challenge in the analysis was that the silver sheet was rolled, but after around 1800 years, it was of course also creased and pressed,” Ivan Calandra, head of the imaging platform at Leiza, said in the statement.

“Using CT, we were able to scan it at a very high resolution and create a 3D model.”

The process revealed 18 lines of text, which have been dubbed the Frankfurt Silver Inscription, and were deciphered by Professor Markus Scholz, an archaeologist from Goether University in Frankfurt. It includes references to Saint Titus, a student and confidant of the Paul the Apostle.

"Sometimes it took weeks, even months, before I had the next idea,” Professor Scholz said. “I called in experts from the history of theology, among others, and we approached the text together, piece by piece, and finally deciphered it."

The translation reads as follows:

(In the name?) of St Titus.

Holy, holy, holy!

In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God!

The lord of the world

resists to the best of his [ability?]

all seizures(?)/setbacks(?).

The god(?) grants well-being

Admission.

This rescue device(?) protects

the person who

surrenders to the will

of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God,

since before Jesus Christ

bend all knees: the heavenly ones,

the earthly and

the subterranean, and every tongue

confess (to Jesus Christ).

The most significant aspect of the discovery is its age, according to a press release issued by the Frankfurt city government. The grave where the amulet was found is dated to between 230 and 270 AD, making it the first example of “such authentic evidence of pure Christianity north of the Alps” during this period.

Until now the earliest reliable evidence of Christian life in the northern Alpine regions of the Roman Empire has generally dated to the 4th century AD, at least 50 years younger than the newly-discovered artefact.