They discover an enigmatic stone inscription from 1500 years ago with the text “Christ, born of Mary”

Archaeological excavations carried out in the town of et-Taiyiba, in the Jezreel Valley, resulted in the discovery of a stone with a Greek inscription forming part of a lintel originally placed as part of an entrance church from the end of the Byzantine period. , which can be read “Christ, born of Mary”.

Excavations carried out by researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority have uncovered an inscription dedicated to Jesus, the son of Mary, carved in stone and coming from the frame of a front door dating from the Byzantine period (end of the 5th century AD).

It was discovered incorporated for secondary use in one of the walls of a building from the Byzantine period or early Islam, where excavations have uncovered two rooms containing mosaic sidewalks with a geometric design.

The inscription was found during an archaeological excavation conducted by Tzachi Lang and Kojan Haku before the construction of a highway in the city.

According to Leah Di-Segni, a researcher at the Institute of Archeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem – who deciphered the text inscribed on the stone – it is a dedication engraved during the laying of the foundations of the church.

The inscription reads: “Christ, born of Mary. This work of the most pious and pious bishop [Theodo]sius y el miserable Th[omas] It was built from scratch – -. Anyone who enters must pray for them. “

According to Di-Segni, the phrase “Christ born of Mary” was intended to protect its readers from the evil eye, and was commonly used in early inscriptions and documents of the time.

Di Segni added that the inscription “greets those who enter and blesses them. This is why it is clear that the building is a church, and not a monastery: the churches welcome believers at their entrance, while the monasteries have tend not to do it “.

Walid Atrash, of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said that “this is the first evidence of the existence of the Byzantine church in the city of et-Taiyiba and adds to other findings that report of the activities of Christians who lived in the region “.