A gold ring with a red stone, estimated to be 2,300 years old, has been found under the floor of a Hellenistic-era building in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the City of David announced
The discovery was made during the Givati “”Parking Lot excavation in the Jerusalem Walls National Park, very close to where the ancient Temple once stood.
The ring is very similar to another found at the same site a year ago.
Archaeologists have been puzzled as to whether the owners of these rings were wealthy Jews, prominent Greeks or people who mixed the two cultures.
According to Dr. Marion Zindel of the IAA, the ring reflects the fashion style of the Hellenistic era.
“When Alexander the Great arrived in the region in 333 B.C., the Greeks brought new ideas and materials from the east, such as India and Persia, which changed the way jewelry was made.
Mixing gold with colored stones became a hallmark of this period, something that continued until the Byzantine era,” she explained.
Archaeologists believe the rings may have belonged to a young girl who was about to get married.
They were found along with a bronze earring, also under the floor of a large public building, suggesting they were not there by chance.
“Gold was very valuable, so it is unlikely that two rings would have been accidentally lost during construction.
The presence of other jewelry suggests they were buried on purpose,” Zindel said.
Because of the rings’ small size, researchers believe they belonged to a child.
One theory is that they were buried as part of a Greek ritual, in which girls would bury childhood objects on the eve of their wedding.
A similar example was found in Tel Kedesh, in northern Israel, where objects such as a statuette of the Greek god Eros, game pieces and writing tools were discovered under the floor of a Hellenistic building, also linked to the life of a young woman.
Mais um anel de ouro é encontrado na Cidade de Davi, em Jerusalém.
? Israel Agora e Sempre (@AgoraIsrael) May 22, 2025
– Esse com 2300 anos.
– A arqueologia é a maior evidência que mostra quem realmente são os primeiros moradores da região: Os judeus.
– E a genética mostra quem são os estrangeiros: Os palestinos. pic.twitter.com/8SdQYqV0x2
– This one is 2,300 years old.
– Archaeology is the greatest evidence that shows who the first inhabitants of the region really are: The Jews.
– And genetics shows who the foreigners are: The Palestinians.
Jerusalem in the Hellenistic era
The Hellenistic era began when Alexander the Great conquered Syria and Israel in 333 BCE and lasted until the mid-1st century BCE, when the Romans took control.
This period includes the reign of the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled Israel after a revolt against the Greek-Seleucid Empire, celebrated on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
According to Prof.Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University, who is leading the excavation, little is known about what life was like in Jerusalem at this time.
The excavation, funded by the City of David Foundation, aims to uncover more about this period.
“The Hellenistic era is well documented in historical sources, but until now we had little archaeological information about Jerusalem.
These rings, other jewelry and buildings we found are starting to help us better understand the city at that time,” Gadot said.
The excavation revealed an entire neighborhood, with public and residential buildings.
The high-quality walls and floors show that Jerusalem was a relatively wealthy city.
Seals were also found, some not produced locally, indicating that the city had connections with other regions.
Despite the discoveries, it is still unclear who the residents of this neighborhood so close to the Temple were.
“We believe they had some connection with the Temple, but we don’t know exactly what,” Gadot explained.
One of the seals found shows the image of a woman, possibly the Greek goddess Athena.
Since Jewish law forbids images of human figures, this raises questions: were the residents Jews who ignored this rule, or were they foreigners, perhaps administrators of the Hellenistic empire?
To better understand this, researchers are analyzing animal bones found at the site, which may reveal what people ate (eating pork, for example, is also forbidden by Jewish law).
“To understand the identity of Jerusalem in the Hellenistic era, we will need more discoveries and studies.
This will take time,” Gadot concluded.
Published in 05/22/2025 20h27
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
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