Remarkable Intact 700-Year-Old Ring With Image Of St. Nicholas Found In Jezreel Valley, Israel

AncientPages.com - A rare, intact 700-year-old bronze ring bearing the image of St. Nicholas was accidentally discovered work in the garden of a home in the Jezreel Valley, Israel. ​

St. Nicholas is best known as the source of the beloved, gift-giving Christmas figure of Santa Claus. To date, there is no comparable ring in the Israel Antiquities Authority National Treasure Department.

“I rubbed it slightly and I saw it was carved with a human image inside a frame,” said gardener Ben-Shitrit, who lives in Kibbutz Hazorea.

He made his interesting discovery while he was weeding his garden and suddenly his eye caught an object among the plants. He picked it up and noticed it had a human figure on it.

“This special ring is amazingly well preserved and will contribute a great deal to science. On the ring is the image of a bald man with a staff next to him.

On preliminary examination, this seems to be St. Nicholas holding a bishop’s crook – his hallmark, “ explained Dr. Yana Tchekhanovetz, Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist specializing in the Byzantine period, who examined the artifact.

In the Eastern Christian world, St. Nicholas is considered the patron saint of travelers, including pilgrims and sailors. Also Christian pilgrims to the Land of Israel from all over the Byzantine Empire (Turkey, the Balkans, Greece and present-day Russia) used to carry this icon to protect them from harm.

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“It is probable that the ring belonged to a pilgrim who sought the protection of St. Nicholas on his travels. St. Nicholas was believed to be a miracle worker and to give gifts in secret. In the Western Christian world, his image evolved into white-bearded Santa Claus, the gift-giver of Christmas Eve.

Moshav Hayogev is a small settlement, located in the eastern Jezreel Valley, east of Tel Megiddo and settlements from the Roman and Byzantine period at nearby Legio.

“We know that the main Roman road from Legio to Mount Tabor passed next to Moshav Yogev, and the road must also have been used throughout the centuries by Christian pilgrims on their way to the sites on Mount Tabor, Nazareth and around the Sea of Galilee,” said Yotam Tepper, Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist and expert on Roman roads.

Original story - here.

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