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Oldest Christian witness north of the Alps in Frankfurt Discovered!
Discovery of the oldest Christianity north of the Alps: A 3rd century amulet will be unveiled on December 18th in the Archaeological Museum Frankfurt.
Oldest Christian witness north of the Alps in Frankfurt Discovered!
An extraordinary discovery in Frankfurt sheds new light on the spread of Christianity in antiquity. A scroll found during excavations in the Roman cemetery of the ancient city of Nida in 2018 has been identified as the oldest evidence of Christianity north of the Alps. The find shows that the region was home to a devout Christian as early as the 3rd century AD, which was a rarity at that time. This reports puk.uni-frankfurt.de.
The amulet, a 3.5 cm piece of silver, was designed as a phylactery that would protect the wearer. It was worn around the neck of the deceased man, whose skeleton was between 35 and 45 years old and who died between 230 and 270 AD. The inscription, written entirely in Latin, stands out from standard engravings, which are often written in Greek or Hebrew. There are also no references to other faiths in the text, which is particularly notable for this time current.uni-frankfurt.de supplemented.
The meaning of the inscription
The deciphered inscription runs 18 lines and contains Christian phrases, including the invocation “Holy, holy, holy!” and the mention of Saint Titus. The texts refer to Jesus Christ and quote a hymn from the biblical Letter to the Philippians 2:10-11. Such content is by no means commonplace and makes the amulet one of the most important finds in Roman Christian archeology north of the Alps, according to the experts hessenschau.de.
Deciphering the inscription posed a considerable challenge. Since the amulet was too fragile to unroll by hand, modern computer tomography was used. This technology allowed the engraving to be deciphered without damaging the delicate object. Led by Markus Scholz, Professor of Archeology at Goethe University, an interdisciplinary team carried out this remarkable work.
Public presentation
The public presentation of the amulet took place on December 11, 2024 by Mayor Mike Josef (SPD). From December 18, 2024, the amulet will be part of the permanent exhibition in the Archaeological Museum in Frankfurt. In addition, Professor Scholz will give a lecture on this important discovery on Monday, June 16th at 7 p.m. at the Research College for Human Sciences in Bad Homburg. Anyone interested can register by June 12th at anmelde@forschungskolleg-humanwissen.de.
In summary, the discovery of the Frankfurt silver amulet opens up new perspectives on the spread of Christianity and Roman history in the region. The amulet is not only a fascinating artifact, but also important evidence of the early Christian community north of the Alps, significantly expanding previous knowledge about the spread of the faith.