Free Republic

SNIP Just ahead of the holidays, archeologists have “digitally unrolled” a 1,800-year-old silver amulet to decipher an inscription that’s being hailed as the oldest known evidence of Christianity in Europe. Authentic evidence of pure Christianity north of the Alps has never existed before now. And the findings have the potential to change holy history forever. “It will force us to turn back the history of Christianity in Frankfurt and far beyond by around 50 to 100 years,” said Mike Josef, mayor of Frankfurt, Germany, where the artifact was exhumed. “The first Christian find north of the Alps comes from our...

It was last read by a human 1,800 years ago, when Christianity was regarded a burgeoning cult.Now, scientists have finally deciphered the 'Frankfurt silver inscription' – an 18-line engraving on a thin piece of foil, housed in a protective amulet.Measuring 1.4 inches (3.5cm) long, the 1,800-year-old silver amulet was found with the skeleton of a man at a burial site on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany.Researchers have used CT scans to 'digitally unroll' the 'wafer thin' foil and read the inscription within for the first time since the 3rd century AD.Incredibly, the text represents the oldest known evidence of Christianity...