1,600-year-old rare gold bead discovered in Jerusalem’s City of David

JERUSALEM POST STAFF

The gold bead which is from the end of the Roman era and over 1,600 years old is an especially rare find.
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A building on the Pilgrimage Road in the City of David. / (photo credit: KOBY HARATI/CITY OF DAVID)

A unique bead made from pure gold was uncovered at the sifting project at the Archaeological Experience in the Emek Tzurim National Park, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday. It was dated to at least 1,600 years ago, which was the end of the Roman era in Israel.

The bead was found in dirt that was removed from a grandiose Roman structure discovered in the Pilgrimage Road Excavation. It was created using a unique technique that required delicate workmanship to affix tens of tiny balls together in the shape of a ring in order to create one small bead.

Gold items a rare find

The find holds distinctive importance due to the lack of gold items found in archaeological excavations and because beads of this style are not common, due to the unique and complex technique used to create them. The technique most probably originates from the region of Mesopotamia, where it was known from approximately 4500 years ago.

18-year-old Hallel Feidman from Bnei Ayish is the volunteer who found the gold bead. She is a National Service volunteer who is working at the sifting project. “I poured the pail onto the sieve and began to wash the material that was brought from the excavations in the City of David, ” Feidman says as she describes the moment she made the discovery. “And then I saw something shiny in the corner of the sieve, different, that I don’t normally see. I immediately approached the archaeologist and he confirmed that I found a gold bead. Everyone here was very excited. “

“Throughout all my years in archaeology, I have found gold perhaps once or twice, so to find gold jewelry, is something very very special,” said Dr. Amir Golani, an ancient jewelry expert at the Israel Antiquities Authority.

OVER 200,000 volunteers from all facets of society, both Israelis and foreigners, have taken part in sifting earth from the Temple Mount. This tedious task could not have been done without the help of a large number of people. This phenomenon of so many participants has no precedent in the history o (credit: TOMMY CHAMBERLIN)

He points out that the bead, which survived unscathed, is probably only a small part of a necklace or bracelet that included additional beads. “Whoever could afford a piece like this made from gold, was an affluent person, with means.”