In the huge excavation conducted in Yavne by the Israel Antiquities Authority (Archaeological Sensation in Yavne: Ancient World’s Largest Complex of Winepresses Uncovered), as part of the Israel Land Authority’s initiative to expand the city, a spectacular gold ring was recently uncovered, with an inlay of a purple stone.
An examination of the ring by Dr. Yotam Asher at the analytical laboratory of the IAA showed that the stone is mostly made of silica – a material from which many gemstones are composed. This examination ruled out the possibility that the purple inlay is made simply of glass. The ring weighs 5.11 grams.
Dr. Amir Golani, an expert on ancient jewelry at the IAA who examined the find, said that “the person who owned the ring was affluent, and the wearing of the jewel indicated their status and wealth. Such rings could be worn by both men and women.”
Golani added that “a semi-precious stone, called amethyst, was placed in the ring. Amethyst (אַחלָמָה) is mentioned in the Bible as one of the 12 precious stones worn by the high priest of the Temple on his ceremonial breastplate. Many virtues have been attached to this gem, including the prevention of the side effect of drinking, the hangover.”
This characteristic attributed to the stone is particularly interesting, given the context in which the ring was discovered, at a site where a huge winery operated during the Byzantine period, and at the time was the largest in the known world.
“Did the person who wore the ring want to avoid intoxication due to drinking a lot of wine? We probably will never know,” said Dr. Elie Haddad, the director of the excavation on behalf of the IAA, together with Liat Nadav-Ziv and Dr. Jon Seligman. He noted, however, that “the ring was found just 150 meters from the remains of a long warehouse, which was used to store wine jugs (amphorae).” Some of the jugs were found upside down on their mouths and it may have been a warehouse where they kept empty jugs that were taken to be filled at the winepresses.
“The ring may have belonged to the owner of the warehouse, to a foreman, or to an unlucky visitor who dropped it and it remained lost until we uncovered it,” Dr. Haddad said.
Researchers are debating the date of the ring. It was found in a fill dated to the end of the Byzantine period and the beginning of the early Islamic period – the 7th century CE, but it is possible that due to its beauty and prestige, the ring was passed from generation to generation over the centuries. Gold rings inlaid with amethyst stone were known in the Roman world, and the ring may have belonged to a member of the elites who lived in the city as early as the 3rd century CE.
According to Eli Eskozido, director of the IAA, “the small, everyday finds that are discovered in our excavations tell us human stories and connect us directly to the past. It is exciting to imagine that the man or woman to whom the ring belonged was walking right here, in a different reality but in the city of Yavne”.
The Israel Antiquities Authority invites the public to visit this coming Friday, 5th November, the excavation of the huge ancient winery in Yavne. Details are available on the IAA Facebook page.