Investigators have discovered a nearly 2,000-year-old silver amulet attached to a necklace around the neck of a skeleton buried in Frankfurt, Germany, possibly highlighting the early presence of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
At just 1.4 inches long, the amulet contains an ultra-thin sheet of silver foil tightly rolled up. Tine Rassalle, a biblical archeologist, told Live Science the purpose of the charm "was to protect or heal their owners from a range of misfortunes, such as illnesses, bodily aches, infertility, or even demonic forces."
"These amulets were widely used in Late Antiquity, especially in the eastern Mediterranean world," she continued. "[But] they are much rarer in the western Roman world. The discovery of this amulet in Germany suggests that Christian ideas had already begun to penetrate areas far from Christianity's early centers of growth."
The jewelry was first discovered in 2018, but the finding wasn't announced until earlier this month, after extensive efforts at conserving, restoring, and analyzing it.
According to Ivan Calandra, head of the imaging platform at the Leibniz Center for Archaeology, researchers used CT scan technology to create a 3D rendering of the amulet.
Now known as the "Frankfurt Inscription," the silver sheet reads:
(In the name?) of Saint Titus. Holy, holy, holy! In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God! The Lord of the world resists with [strengths?] all attacks(?)/setbacks(?). The God(?) grants entry to well-being. May this means of salvation(?) protect the man who surrenders himself to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, since before Jesus Christ every knee bows: those in heaven, those on earth and those under the earth, and every tongue confesses (Jesus Christ).
The discovery is certainly noteworthy, as the practice of Christianity in the early Roman Empire -- during the reign of Emperor Nero, who persecuted Christians -- was not safe. Even more fascinating is the fact that the necklace mentions no other faiths; it is exclusively Christian.
Rassalle said, "What makes this particular example remarkable is that it is written entirely in Latin and exclusively invokes Jesus Christ and the Christian God."
The amulet also featured specific Christian phrases -- like "Holy, holy, holy," which was not known in Christendom until the fourth century -- as well as a quote from the Apostle Paul's biblical book of Philippians.
Frankfurt Mayor Mike Josef called the discovery "a scientific sensation," adding, "The first Christian find north of the Alps comes from our city: we can be proud of this, especially now, so close to Christmas."