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Archaeologists uncovered a gold ring set with a precious stone, likely a garnet, during routine excavations in the City of David, the oldest continuously inhabited area of Jerusalem.
The ring’s small diameter suggests it may have belonged to an engaged young woman. Dating to the late 3rd to early 2nd century BCE, she likely buried her childhood jewelry and other keepsakes in her home’s foundation as part of a coming-of-age ritual.
This is the second early Hellenistic gold ring found in the past year, Live Science reports.
“The jewelry was likely buried during a common ritual that symbolized the transition from childhood to adulthood,” said researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Tel Aviv University.
“We were sifting through soil at the excavation site when Ben, who works with me, suddenly pulled out the gold ring,” said Rivka Lengler, a co-author of the discovery. “At first he thought it was a modern item lost by one of our archaeologists, but when I examined it, I immediately realized it was ancient,” she added.
In the archaeological layer that had concealed the gold rings for centuries, researchers recently uncovered other valuable artifacts from the Hellenistic period. Among them were bronze earrings, a gold earring showing a horned animal, and an exquisite gold bead.
