Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in a 3rd-century Roman grave near Frankfurt, Germany, uncovering the oldest evidence of Christianity north of the Alps. The artifact, a silver amulet known as the “Frankfurt Silver Inscription,” dates back to approximately 230-270 CE and predates previously known Christian artifacts from this region by nearly 50 years.
The silver amulet was found during a 2017-2018 excavation of a Roman cemetery in the Heilmannstraße area, the site of the ancient Roman city of Nida. The burial ground contained 127 graves, with one standing out in particular: the resting place of a man aged 35-45 years. Alongside grave goods such as an incense burner and pottery, archaeologists discovered a small rolled silver foil beneath the man’s chin.
The amulet, likely worn on a ribbon around the neck, is classified as a phylactery, a container designed to protect the wearer through its contents. The inscription etched into the amulet’s silver foil was deciphered using advanced computer tomography technology at the Leibniz Center for Archaeology (LEIZA) in Mainz. This non-invasive method allowed researchers to digitally “unroll” the fragile scroll, revealing an 18-line Latin text containing exclusively Christian content.
The text opens with a reference to St. Titus, a disciple of the Apostle Paul, and includes invocations such as “Holy, holy, holy!” and “In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God.” It also incorporates elements of Christian liturgy, including a near-verbatim quotation from Paul’s letter to the Philippians (Phil. 2:10-11). According to Prof. Dr. Markus Scholz of Goethe University, Frankfurt, who led the deciphering process, the text’s sophistication suggests it was crafted by an elaborate scribe, and its purely Christian content is extraordinary for this period.
The discovery of the silver amulet has significant implications for our understanding of the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire. The absence of references to Yahweh, angels, or pagan deities in the inscription underscores its exclusively Christian nature, highlighting the wearer’s devotion and raising questions about the role of Christianity in Nida, a city that was once a cultural and administrative hub of Roman Germania.