Researchers have deciphered a mysterious inscription hidden in an ancient amulet, revealing fascinating new insights into the early history of Christianity.

The small silver amulet was originally found in 2018 at the archaeological site of Nida – an ancient Roman city located near the former northern border of the empire in what is now a suburb of Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Excavations at the site revealed an amulet in a Roman grave dated between 230-270 AD, tucked under the lower jaw of a male skeleton. This type of amulet, known as a phylactery, served as a type of container to hold objects believed to be imbued with magical properties intended to protect the wearer.

In particular, the Frankfurt amulet contains a thin piece of rolled silver foil with an inscription that researchers were finally able to decode using advanced technology, the city of Frankfurt said in a statement.

Why is this early Christian amulet so important?

The findings of recent investigations suggest that the wearer of the amulet was a devout Christian – an “extraordinary” find for this area and period. According to scientists, the amulet represents the oldest reliable evidence of “pure Christianity” north of the Alps, located in south central Europe.

Historical sources make references to early Christian groups in the Roman territories of Gaul and Germania Superior – both (primarily) north of the Alps. But reliable physical evidence of Christian life north of the Alps that has so far been uncovered usually dates back to the 4th century AD.

The “Frankfurt inscription” is a scientific sensation. Thanks to him, the history of Christianity in Frankfurt and far beyond will have to go back about 50 to 100 years,” the mayor of the city, Mike Josef, said in a statement. “The first Christian find north of the Alps comes from our city.”

After its discovery, the silver amulet was preserved and restored in the Archaeological Museum in Frankfurt. Microscopic examinations and X-rays carried out in 2019 identified the presence of the inscription on a thin silver foil.

But the foil was too fragile and brittle to be unrolled, preventing researchers from further examining the inscription.

The breakthrough came in May 2024, when experts examined the artifact using a state-of-the-art CT scanner at the Leibniz Center for Archeology in Mainz (LEIZA).

A CT scanner is an imaging device that uses a computerized combination of X-ray measurements taken from different angles to create cross-sections of given objects. In archaeology, it can be used to non-invasively examine the internal structures of artifacts and remains without damaging them.

“The challenge in the analysis was that the silver sheet was rolled, but after about 1,800 years, of course, it was also wrinkled and pressed. Using CT, we were able to scan it in very high resolution and create a 3D model,” he added. Ivan Calandra, head of LEIZA’s imaging laboratory, said in a statement.

This “digital unfolding” allowed researchers to decipher the inscription for the first time, although some parts were lost. Interestingly, the text found to contain references to Saint Titus, disciple and confidant of the Apostle Paul, as well as Jesus, is written entirely in Latin.

“This is unusual for the time. Normally, such inscriptions on amulets were written in Greek or Hebrew,” Markus Scholz of Frankfurt’s Goethe University, who deciphered the text in collaboration with other experts, said in a statement.

It is also unusual that the text contains no mention of any faith other than Christianity. Until the 5th century, these types of precious metal amulets typically showed influences from other faiths and belief systems, including Judaism and paganism. But the Frankfurt amulet appears to be purely Christian.

By the 3rd century – when the amulet appears to date – Christianity was growing and spreading throughout the Roman Empire. But his followers were still sometimes subject to reprisals and persecution, potentially making it risky for people to identify as Christians.

To what extent the individual buried in Nida was able to practice his faith, and whether the contents of the amulet remained his secret, is currently unclear. Despite this, the nature of the burial suggests that the amulet was important to him.

Analysis of the text revealed by the inscription helps to shed new light on the early history of Christianity in the late period of Roman rule. Some formulations contained in the text were previously verified many decades later.

For example, the text contains the invocation “Holy, holy, holy!” – previously unknown in Christian liturgy until the 4th century.

“This extraordinary find affects many areas of research and will occupy scientists for a long time. It concerns archeology as well as religious studies, philology and anthropology. Such a significant find here in Frankfurt is truly something extraordinary,” said Ina Hartwig, the city’s head of culture said in a statement and science.