A 1,500-year-old tablet with an etching of a menorah was recently discovered in the town of Caesarea in Israel an is said to confirm an ancient Jewish presence in the region.
According to a report from The Algemeiner, originally found on the Jewish News Service website, the tablet etched with a menorah is made of mother-of-pearl, a substance that comes from the beautiful smooth substance on the inside of certain shells.
Israel Antiquities archaeologist Peter Gendelman said the tablet dates back to the late Roman-Byzantine period of the fourth or fifth centuries A.D. Gendelman said that the discovery of the tablet “points to clear Jewish presence at Caesarea during this period.”
The tablet was discovered near a temple built by King Herod in the first century A.D. in honor of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. It is thought to have been part of a structure used to hold a Torah scroll, according to the expert opinions of archaeologists.
The tablet was discovered in the process of a $30 million renovation project in Caesarea. It is the first artifact of its kind ever discovered made from mother-of-pearl.
Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/dominiquelandau
Publication date: April 28, 2017
