A 1500-year-old plaque that reads “Christ, born of Mary” in ancient Greek was discovered in northern Israel.
This was found by a team of archaeologists during an excavation in northern Israel, as reported by Daily Mail Online.
This is a text that once sat above the doorway of a church to ward off evil spirits.
The phrase was used by Christians to protect themselves against the “evil eye,” which was an ancient curse from Greek and Roman cultures that would bring misfortune on unsuspecting individuals.
The inscription was uncovered during an excavation of a once-magnificent church that was built in the Byzantine or Early Islamic period. The building was discovered during a salvage dig prior to a new road construction project in Jezreel Valley.
“This is the first evidence of the Byzantine church’s existence in the village of et-Taiyiba and it adds to other finds attesting to the activities of Christians who lived in the region,” said Dr. Walid Atrash, of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The team is sure that the inscription comes from a church and not from a monastery.
A 1,500 inscription that reads 'Christ, born of Mary' has been found in Israel https://t.co/Pqqg0fmscz
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) January 21, 2021