Archaeologists were able to find an important religious relic that featured a depiction of Moses receiving the ten commandments.
They discovered the relic inside an early church's marble shrine in Austria.
Religious Relic With Depiction of Moses
The 1,600-year-old artifact is an ivory box that has a unique depiction of the famous Old Testament scene of Moses receiving the 10 commandments from God over Mount Sinai.
It also contained images of saints as well as Christ's ascension.
Due to how early Christian objects are considered extremely rare, the circular ivory box has been considered quite a significant find.
All over the world, only 40 similar discoveries have been uncovered. The last one was found around a century ago.
Researchers from the University of Innsbruck were excavating the early church that used to stand over Burgbichi in the Irschen municipality in southern Austria.
The researchers were able to find a sealing stone within a depression that was pit-like. An altar used to stand there, and after it was removed, the researchers pulled the ivory box out.
The box was found broken in various pieces, which suggests that it may have been broken before being placed inside a large marble box found within the shrine of the early Church. However, it used to form a pure circle that was fashioned with metal glue and wood that served a clasping function.
This ivory box artifact was the church's holiest part. Hence, experts question why it stayed among the ruins, as it should have been brought before the church was abandoned.
Though the archaeologists think that Jesus Christ and Moses were depicted in the ivory box, they acknowledge that the item's interpretation is still largely a mystery.
The team speculated that it could depict Moses receiving the commandments or hitting his staff over the water to part the Red Sea.
Another scene in the box could be the resurrection of Jesus from the burial chamber after he was crucified.
Early Christianity Artifact
According to the team, the relic was made less than a century after Constantine the Great decided to convert to Christianity. In 313 B.C., the Roman Emperor issued the Edict of Milan, legalizing the religion and promoting faith tolerance.
In 380 B.C., the Edict of Thessalonica was issued by Emperor Theodosius. This edict recognized Christianity as the Roman Empire's official religion. This took place 1,644 years after the making of the ivory box artifact.
The early church that the relic was discovered in had a length of roughly 60 feet and had a marble shrine in its entryway.
To its west and south were burials. They discovered human remains that pointed to individuals from the area who could have been part of the "social upper class."
The researchers think that around 200 to 300 individuals lived in the region from A.D. 300 to 700.
RELATED ARTICLE: 1,500-Year-Old Underground Chambers, Tunnel Unearthed Beneath an Early Christian Church in Istanbul
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