Israel archaeologists say find 1,400-year-old Christian relic
Israeli archaeologists said Sunday they have found a tiny 1,400-year-old relic of Christian faith among the remains of an ancient road in Jerusalem.
The finding, an exquisitely made 2 centimeter by 1.5 centimeter box of bone with a cross carved on the lid, was likely carried by a Christian believer around the end of the 6th century A.D.
When its lid is removed, the remains of two portraits are still visible in gold and paint a man and a woman, possibly Jesus and Mary.
Archaeologist Yana Tchekhanovets of the Israel Antiquities Authority said Sunday that the box is the first well preserved example of its kind and is important because it shows that icon use was not limited to church ceremonies in Byzantine times.
An Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) restorer displays a Byzantine 0.8 by 0.6-inch (2 by 1.5cm) Christian icon box made of bone with a cross carved on the lid in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011. The was likely carried by a Christian believer who lost it on one of Jerusalem's streets around the end of the 6th century A.D. Archaeologist Yana Tchekhanovets of the Israel Antiquities Authority says the box is unique and offers the first archaeological evidence that the use of icons in the Byzantine period was not limited to church ceremonies. (Sebastian Scheiner/AP Photo)
An Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) restorer closes the lid of a Byzantine 0.8 by 0.6-inch (2 by 1.5cm) Christian icon box made of bone in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011. The was likely carried by a Christian believer who lost it on one of Jerusalem's streets around the end of the 6th century A.D. Archaeologist Yana Tchekhanovets of the Israel Antiquities Authority says the box is unique and offers the first archaeological evidence that the use of icons in the Byzantine period was not limited to church ceremonies. (Sebastian Scheiner/AP Photo)
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