According to recent reports, archaeologists discovered a relic that could have been associated with Moses and his reception of the Ten Commandments from God. While performing excavations at the location of a church, researchers found an ivory box that is estimated to be roughly 1,500 years old, according to a statement from Innsbruck University.
Fox News reported that archaeologists from Innsbruck University in southern Austria were conducting the dig underneath an altar inside a chapel located at the summit of a small hill known as Burgbichl in the municipality of Irschen.
“We know of around 40 ivory boxes of this kind worldwide and, as far as I know, the last time one of these was found during excavations was around 100 years ago – the few pyxes that exist are either preserved in cathedral treasures or exhibited in museums,” according to Gerald Grabherr, the lead archaeologist in the excavation which unearthed the artifact.
Reportedly, the relic depicts a man turning his head to a hand rising out of the sky above him where something is being placed between the individual’s arms. There are other biblical figures portrayed in the item as well. “This is the typical depiction of the handing over of the laws to Moses on Mount Sinai, the beginning of the covenant between God and man from the Old Testament,” Grabherr explained.
The archaeologist noted that the artifact is assumed to contain a depiction of Jesus Christ ascending into the heavens following his resurrection, fulfilling the new covenant between humanity and God. Grabherr noted that while Christ’s ascension is a common depiction found throughout ancient relics, one motif showing a chariot and horses was previously unknown to archeologists.
“We assume that this is a depiction of the ascension of Christ, the fulfillment of the covenant with God. The depiction of scenes from the Old Testament and their connection with scenes from the New Testament is typical of late antiquity and thus fits in with our pyx; however, the depiction of the Ascension of Christ with a so-called biga, a two-horse chariot, is very special and previously unknown,” Grabherr continued.
In other news related to major Biblical archaeological discoveries, The Christian Tribune reported last month on researchers discovering one of the earliest known records of the early life of Jesus Christ. German researchers recently decoded a papyrus manuscript estimated to be around 1600 years old, dating to the 4th or 5th century A.D.
“It was thought to be part of an everyday document, such as a private letter or a shopping list, because the handwriting seems so clumsy,” professor and researcher Lajos Berkes said. “We first noticed the word Jesus in the text. Then, by comparing it with numerous other digitized papyri, we deciphered it letter by letter and quickly realized that it could not be an everyday document.”
According to Berkes, the document appears to be associated with the Gospel of Thomas, a discredited apocryphal book that was discredited and excluded from the canonical texts that make up the Bible. Nonetheless, the discovery is a monumental piece of history.
Featured image credit: Guido Reni, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guido_Reni_-_Moses_with_the_Tables_of_the_Law_-_WGA19289.jpg