Decoding the Silver Amulet in Germany; New Evidence of Christianity's Spread in the Northern Alps

A small silver amulet discovered alongside a skeleton in a nearly two-thousand-year-old grave in Germany has changed archaeologists' insights into the early spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire. This amulet, found in 2018 during excavations near the site of the ancient Roman city of Nida, represents the earliest written evidence of Christianity in the northern Alpine region, dating several decades earlier than other archaeological evidence related to the spread of Christianity in this area, which is now part of modern-day Frankfurt. Archaeologists found this amulet, also known as a 'phylactery,' among other objects in the grave, beneath the chin of the skeleton. Experts speculate that this phylactery, measuring approximately 3.6 centimeters in length, was likely worn around the man's neck as a protective charm for his soul. The image published by the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum shows that a phylactery is a type of amulet similar to small boxes that contain sacred writings for warding off evil, which a believer carries with them. However, the silver foil inside this 'phylactery' was so fragile that any attempt to open it seemed impossible. Finally, in May 2024, scientists at the Leibniz Center for Archaeological Research in Mainz, Germany, succeeded in imaging and decoding the inscription on the sheet using computer tomography (CT scan). The text includes 18 lines of religious writings in Latin, referencing Jesus Christ and Saint Titus. Unlike other texts of amulets from that period, which were written in Greek or Hebrew, this text makes no reference to Judaism or other religions. Markus Schulz, an archaeologist and expert in Latin inscriptions at Goethe University in Frankfurt, who oversaw the decoding of the text, stated that he invited experts in theological history and other specialists to work piece by piece on the text until they finally succeeded in decoding it. The Frankfurt Archaeological Museum also announced that this discovery pushes credible evidence of Christian life in the northern Alpine regions back to the third century AD, with all previous findings being at least 50 years later. Peter Heather, a professor of medieval history at King's College London, described this achievement as an 'extraordinary discovery' in an interview with CNN. Heather told CNN, 'The ability to decode writings when they are wrapped in a piece of silver is exceptional. This is something that is only possible now with modern technology. If they had found this piece 100 years ago, it would not have been possible to decode it.' At the time of this man's burial, estimated to be between 35 and 45 years old, although Christianity was gradually increasing, revealing a Christian identity was still dangerous. Furthermore, while there is evidence of Christian communities in central parts of the Roman Empire, the presence of this religion in the border areas of the Roman Empire and Germania is quite unusual and unique.