Researchers have discovered an important Christian relic: an ivory coffin decorated with religious motifs, hidden in an early Christian church excavated in what is now southern Austria, according to the daily email.
The archaeologists discovered a Biblical scene in which Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai on the 1,500-year-old chest. The box is also engraved with images of saints and the ascension of Christ.
The round ivory box is a remarkable artifact, as objects from early Christianity are extremely rare. The Christian faith is about 2,000 years old and only 40 such discoveries have been made worldwide, with the last similar find occurring about 100 years ago.
“This only happens once in an archaeologist’s life,” says lead archaeologist Gerald Grabherr.
He suggests that the relic was created less than 100 years after Roman Emperor Constantine the Great converted to Christianity. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, which legalized Christianity. Later, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.
The ivory chest was found during excavations of an early Christian church in southern Austria, a region that once belonged to the Roman Empire and likely housed a pagan shrine before becoming a church.
The team discovered a seal stone in a recess where the altar once stood, where they found the coffin. Although the artifact was broken into pieces, it was originally round and fitted with a metal clasp.
According to scholars, this item was the holiest part of the church. It remains unclear why this was not taken before the church was abandoned.
Researchers also note that the box depicts both Moses and Christ. The scene probably shows Moses receiving the commandments of God or parting the waters of the Red Sea. Another scene on the coffin shows Jesus rising from his burial chamber after his crucifixion.
