‘I was sifting earth and suddenly saw something glitter’
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A 2,300-year-old gold ring found at the Givati Parking lot excavation in the City of David. (Courtesy: Asaf Peri/City of David)
(JNS) — A gold ring dating from the early Hellenistic period set with a precious stone was recently found in the joint Israel Antiquities Authority-Tel Aviv University excavation in Jerusalem’s City of David.
The 2,300-year-old ring was discovered by Tehiya Gangate, a City of David excavation team member.
“I was sifting earth … and suddenly saw something glitter,” she recounted. “I immediately yelled, ‘I found a ring, I found a ring!’ Within seconds everyone gathered around me, and there was great excitement,” she said, adding, “This is an emotionally moving find, not the kind you find every day.”
The ring was manufactured by hammering thin pre-cut gold leaves onto a metal base. Stylistically it reflects the common fashion of the Persian and Early Hellenistic periods, dating from the late 4th to early 3rd century BCE and onwards.
The finds at the excavation “are beginning to paint a new picture of the nature and stature of Jerusalem’s inhabitants in the Early Hellenistic Period,” said professor Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University.