Planet

Ancient Golden Treasure Found Near Jerusalem Temple Mount

An ancient cache of 36 gold coins, gold and silver jewelry and a gold medallion etched with Jewish symbols have been uncovered in excavations at the foot of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

The find, which is estimated to be about 1,400 years old, is a “once-in-a lifetime discovery,” according to Eilat Mazar, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem archaeologist who directed the excavation. Etched into the medallion is a menorah, the 7-branched candelabrum used in the ancient Temple, a ram’s horn, and a Torah scroll.

The position of the items as they were discovered indicates that one bundle was carefully hidden underground, while the second bundle appeared to be abandoned in haste and scattered across the floor, according to an e-mailed statement from Hebrew University.

The medallion, which hangs from a gold chain, is probably an ornament for a Torah scroll, according to the statement. If so, it is the earliest Torah scroll ornament found in archaeological excavations to date. It was buried in a small depression in the floor of a ruined Byzantine public structure, about 50 meters from the Temple Mount’s southern wall.