Century-old pilgrim medallion found by child in Jerusalem's Ein Karem

The Tablet ^ | January 2, 2025 | Tabitha Smith

[SunkenCiv]

A ten-year-old schoolboy accidentally discovered a 100-year-old cross medallion during a school trip to the birthplace of John the Baptist.

Nehorai Nir, a student at Jerusalem's Argentina Experimental High School in Kiryat Hoyovel, said that when he was picking edible plants, "I suddenly saw a colourful object shining in the dirt. I pulled it out and was immediately very excited...

According to Dr Amrit Re'em, the Jerusalem District Archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the cross medallion was made with a micro-mosaic technique.

"This cross medallion is not considered an antiquity by law as it is 'only' 100-200 years old or so, but it is a unique object," said Dr Re'em. "The manufacturing method demanded expert craftsmanship which includes setting glass and tiny colourful precious stones, placed with exceeding precision to form miniature pattern."

Ein Karem, a mountain village southwest of Jerusalem, has been venerated for centuries by Christians as the "town in Judah" where both John the Baptist is believed to have been born, and his pregnant mother Elizabeth to have met Mary.

Both the Church of the Visitation and the Church of St John have drawn generations of pilgrims to Ein Karem as a central site of the Holy Land, with many pilgrims having made their way up from the coastal port cities to the Old City of Jerusalem.

[SunkenCiv]

Century-old pilgrim medallion found by child in Jerusalem's Ein Karem

Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority

[SunkenCiv]

I couldn't get the image URL to display, so I used a different source located with a G search. The link to this story was previously posted at the topic linked below.

• Ancient [Israel] Map Sets [Arab] Middle East Ablaze [01/08/2025]

[Governor Dinwiddie]

[Red Badger]

“Not an antiquity by law...”

Finders keepers!................

[SunkenCiv]

LOL