How 2,300-year-old gold rings bring an ancient chapter of Jerusalem’s history to life

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(CNN) — Archaeologists in Jerusalem say they have discovered a roughly 2,300-year-old gold ring with a red gemstone that’s remarkably similar to another piece of jewelry found less than a year ago.

The two rings, small enough to fit a child, were artifacts unearthed at the City of David site in the Jerusalem Walls National Park. The team analyzing the pieces believes the rings may be connected to a coming-of-age ritual by young women before marriage, suggesting the items were buried intentionally.

Researchers said the rings, along with bronze earrings, a gold earring resembling a horned animal and a decorated gold bead, likely come from the Early Hellenistic Period in Jerusalem. The Hellenistic era, associated with the spread of Greek culture and influence, lasted from 332 to 141 BC in the city.

Remarking on the novelty of finding so much gold jewelry from this period in Jerusalem, Efrat Bocher, an excavation manager from Bar-Ilan University and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem, said in a May 21 statement that “(t)his displayed wealth is very rare in any archaeological layer, and it attests to the wealth of Jerusalem and the high standard of living of the city’s residents during this period.”

Recovered from the foundations of a large building, both objects were in a layer of dirt dated to the late third century or early second century BC, according to excavation managers Dr. Yiftah Shalev, an archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Yuval Gadot, head of the Sonia & Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology and professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University.

The discoveries are shedding light on a chapter of Jerusalem’s history known primarily from ancient texts, as only a sparse archaeological record existed — until now, Gadot said.

Twin rings signal a transition

The newfound gold ring, set with what appears to be a garnet, was in such excellent condition that excavators first thought it was a modern piece of jewelry dropped by a team member. But Rivka Lengler, one of the first excavators to examine the artifact, recognized its ancient design and called over the rest of the team.

“When I held this ring in my hand, I felt that I could actually touch and connect with the people who lived here thousands of years ago,” Lengler said in a statement.

The ring uncovered at the site less than a year ago is also set with a red precious gem and lacks signs of age.

“I was sifting earth through the screen and suddenly saw something glitter,” said Tehiya Gangate, an excavation team member, in a release in 2024. “I immediately yelled, ‘I found a ring, I found a ring!’ Within seconds everyone gathered around me, and there was great excitement. This is an emotionally moving find, not the kind you find every day.”

Both rings would fit on a woman’s pinkie finger at most, but more likely on a girl’s finger, the researchers said.

Dr. Marion Zindel, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority, analyzed the rings and believes artisans made them by hammering thin gold leaf onto metal ring bases.

Excavators recovered all the jewelry at the site from beneath the building’s floors, suggesting the pieces were placed there on purpose, Zindel said.

One hypothesis is that the jewelry was used in “a well-known Hellenistic period custom in which betrothed women would bury jewelry and other childhood objects in the house foundations as a symbol of the transition from childhood to adulthood,” Zindel said in a statement.

Associated with the Early Hellenistic Period, the trend of combining colorful gems with gold was influenced by Indian and Persian fashion and brought to the region by Alexander the Great’s eastern conquests, which opened trade channels transporting luxury goods between various regions, according to the researchers.

Hallmarks of wealth

Pieces of jewelry and other finds indicate that the Early Hellenistic Period in Jerusalem was a time associated with wealth and urban planning, but the extent of its residents’ prosperity and affluence wasn’t previously known, Bocher said.

Excavations in the Givati parking lot, located on the western slope of the City of David hill, have been ongoing for years, she said in a YouTube video sharing the discovery. The excavations have been jointly conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University.

The team is eager to gain a better understanding of Jerusalem between the first and ninth centuries BC — a period that has been missing from the archaeological record so far — and the city’s long, diverse heritage, Gadot said.

The items show that the city’s inhabitants were open to adopting Hellenistic cultural trends, lifestyle and architecture — which differs from traditional interpretations from ancient texts about Jerusalem. Experts previously believed the city was culturally isolated, rejecting outside influences, based on mentions in ancient texts, Gadot said. But the jewelry, and the customs associated with its burial, changes that assumption, Gadot added.

Researchers now have a new way of understanding how the region was changing at the time. With few structures and artifacts from the era, it was easy to assume that Jerusalem was a small town. But the discoveries so far have uncovered an entire neighborhood including domestic and administrative buildings that extended westward from the City of David hilltop, where a Jewish temple once sat, Gadot said.

In addition to analyzing the jewelry, the team will also study animal bones, coins and pottery recovered from the site to learn more about interregional connections, the origin of imported goods and even the culinary habits in Jerusalem at the time. The bones could reveal whether inhabitants practiced Kashrut regulations, or kosher Jewish dietary laws, which govern what animals could be consumed, and how they should be prepared and handled.

“We are only now beginning to explore the story of 4th-2nd century BCE Jerusalem,” Gadot said in an email. “With the Temple at one end and the Hellenic cultural presence at the other end, we want to understand the position of the people living in Jerusalem.”

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