JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli archaeologists are inviting Israelis to see a unique artifact found outside Jerusalem as part of their Independence Day celebrations. The discovery is unique because it contains an iconic Jewish symbol found in a Christian site.
The 1,500-year-old ornate limestone piece once sat on top of an ancient column. The carved image on it surprised archaeologists.
Excavation director Dr. Uzi Ad recalled, “At first, when we found it, we didn’t even recognize it was a menorah, because it was sitting upside down. Only afterward, when we started to examine it and flipped the image, we realized it was an eight-branched menorah.”
Ad says they discovered the artifact on the floor of a Byzantine-era building near a church.
“Usually, at the top of a capital, there is a flower. Here, suddenly, there’s a menorah, and that is unique,” he stated, and added, “The menorahs of that period were not standardized, so the symbol, the shape of the menorah, sometimes appears with seven branches, and sometimes with eight branches.”
The piece was unearthed five years ago during excavations for building a new entrance to Jerusalem.
Dr. Ad explained, “We have no other capitals of this quality at the site. It raised many questions, in general, about how it came to be there: What is a menorah doing at a non-Jewish, Byzantine, Christian site? You would expect several capitals to be similar. Here, it’s a one-of-a-kind capital.”
Experts say menorahs, modeled after the Temple candelabra, typically appear at synagogues. Since there’s no evidence of a synagogue at this site, they believe this capital may have been moved for another use.
He noted, “Following the research, we now know that it was indeed produced in the region. Based on the type of limestone it was made from, it is probably local. There’s significance here because this symbol, which even appears today on our shirts and in other places, carries a sense of national pride when you find a menorah. It’s not certain the artist intended it that way, but there is tremendous pride in the appearance of a menorah at a non-Jewish site.”
Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, Israeli Minister of Heritage, said finding the capital is “tangible evidence of the profound and undeniable connection between the Jewish people, Jerusalem, and the land of Israel throughout thousands of years…and serves as a bridge between our glorious past and the renewal of our independence in the State of Israel.”
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