Ancient gold ring from the City of David

Like a gold earring and a fine gold ornament is the reprimand given in wisdom to one who is willing to listen. Proverbs 25:12 (NIV)

‍A 2,300-year-old gold ring with a gemstone was recently discovered during an excavation in the City of David, part of the National Park of the Walls of Jerusalem. The ring is in excellent condition and dates back to the Early Hellenistic Period (the time of Greek cultural dominance after around 323 B.C.).

‍The discovery of expensive jewelry “paints a new picture of the nature and stature of the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Early Hellenistic Period”, said Professor Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University. It was previously assumed that Jerusalem was a small city during this era, but new discoveries, including this gold ring, tell a different story. In a broader view, the discovery of the ring and the context surrounding it also speak to the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

‍The City of David is the original center of the ancient biblical city established as the capital of Israel by King David. Today, the park is best known for the Tunnel of King Hezekiah, built to bring water to the city before the Assyrian siege led by Sennacherib around 701 B.C.

‍The area is located outside the southern walls of what is today known as the Old City of Jerusalem. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Israel. The excavation of the City of David was a joint excavation between Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and conducted with the support of the Elad Foundation.

‍“I found a ring!”

‍Tehiya Gangate, a member of the City of David excavation team, made the exciting discovery of the special ring while sifting through excavation dirt. “I was sifting the dirt through the screen and suddenly saw something shine,” she explained. “I immediately shouted, 'I found a ring, I found a ring!'”

“Within seconds, everyone gathered around me, and there was great excitement,” she continued. “This is an emotionally moving discovery, not the kind you find every day. In fact, I always wanted to find gold jewelry, and I am very happy that this dream has come true – literally a week before I go on maternity leave.”

The ring was likely worn by a child, given its small size. A beautiful red gemstone is embedded in the center, which archaeologists believe to be likely a garnet. The ring still needs to be scientifically analyzed. Being made of gold, a very refined material that ages well, it is extremely well-preserved, with no rust or wear.

Regarding the ring's wearer, the excavation directors of the IAA, Dr. Yiftah Shalev and Riki Zalut Har-tov, said: “The ring is very small. It would fit on a woman's pinky, or on the finger of a girl or boy.”‍

Meticulous crafting of the ring

‍Stylistically, the design of the ring reflects the common fashion of the Persian and early Hellenistic periods, dating from the late 4th century to the early 3rd century B.C. and beyond. During this time, the preference for gold jewelry with set stones developed instead of decorated or sculpted gold.

The ring is not very symmetrical and the finish is less than perfect, but precision fitting is difficult with the technique that was used to make it. Dr. Marion Zindel explained how the ring was created by hammering thin pre-cut sheets of gold onto a ring base that was typically made of bronze or another less expensive metal than gold.

Strip by strip, the gold would be meticulously wrapped around the base and carefully hammered, followed by pressing to achieve the desired ring shape. Only after the gold wrapping was ready would the hole for the stone be cut.

Upon closely examining the stone, the seams between the sheets of gold are visible, as well as the tool marks around the stone. “The shape of the stone needs to be cut afterward and worked around, and that is why it does not fit exactly,” Zindel explained.

Other gold items found

“The recently found gold ring joins other ornaments from the early Hellenistic period found in the excavations of the City of David, including the horned animal earring and the decorated gold bead,” said Gadot and excavator Efrat Bocher.

Exhibiting extremely high-quality craftsmanship, a gold hoop earring and gold beads were also found in the same period and archaeological level as the ring. Both items were made using a technique called filigree, in which threads and small metal beads are used to create delicate and intricate patterns, according to Ariel Polokoff and Dr. Adi Erlich from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Haifa.

The gold earring is shaped like the head of an animal with horns, possibly an antelope or a deer, with large eyes and a mouth. This type of earring first appeared in Greece during the early Hellenistic period. Similar earrings have been found in the Mediterranean basin, especially in Greece, but are extremely rare in Israel.

“We can say for sure that whoever wore this earring definitely belonged to the upper class of Jerusalem,” the researchers said. “This can be determined by the proximity to the Temple Mount and the Temple, which was functional at the time, as well as by the quality of the gold piece of jewelry.”

When comparing the ring with the intricate gold earring and bead, it is obvious that the latter shows better finishing. “It is true that this [ring] is not of the latest generation,” said Shalev. “The cuts are not symmetrical and the finish is not precise, but it is still a piece of very high-quality jewelry,” especially given the embedded stone, which was very popular in early Hellenistic times.

More elite than previously thought

With proper finishing or not, the ring, when compared with other gold items found in this archaeological layer of the City of David, indicates that the community in that part of Jerusalem at that time was affluent, said Shalev.

The excavations are painting a new and larger picture of the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Early Hellenistic Period. “In the past, we only found a few structures and finds from that era,” the researchers said. “Thus, most scholars assumed that Jerusalem was then a small city, limited to the top of the southeastern slope [City of David] with relatively few resources.”

These new discoveries present a completely different picture. “The aggregate of revealed structures now constitutes an entire neighborhood,” the scholars continued. “They attest to domestic and public buildings, and that the city extended from the top of the hill to the west.”

“The character of the buildings – and now, it is clear, the discoveries of gold and others, exhibit the healthy economy of the city and even its elite status. It certainly seems that the city's residents were open to the widespread Hellenistic style and the prevailing influences also in the eastern Mediterranean basin,” said Gadot.

Hellenization and Biblical Connections

Gold jewelry was well known and documented in the Hellenistic world, from the reign of Alexander the Great onward. His conquests contributed to the dissemination and transport of luxury goods and products. During this time, jewelry decorations were often influenced by mythological figures or significant symbolic events.

The Hellenistic period refers to the area of the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean during the period between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. and the conquest of Egypt by Rome in 30 B.C. This was a time when Greek culture spread and flourished.

Alexander was a powerful conqueror from Macedonia whose triumph over nearly the entire known world resulted in one of the largest empires in ancient history. He reigned for only 13 years, but in that short period of time he toppled the entire Persian Empire: Asia Minor, Persia, Egypt, and everything in between, including Israel.

About two centuries earlier, the Persian king Cyrus had issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Israel after their deportation to Babylon. Initially, a group of about 50,000 returned, with more people following later.

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, when Alexander visited Jerusalem around 332 B.C., he was received by the Jewish people with respect and admiration. The Jewish leaders informed him that his kingdom was foretold in the book of Daniel. About 250 years before Alexander began his world conquest, God gave Daniel a glimpse of the future. This message was important for Daniel and his people because God also said that they would return to their land, and He would take care of them during the turbulent times to come.

The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that Daniel interpreted as a succession of four “global” empires. The dream included a great statue whose head was “made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay” (Daniel 2:32-33). Each of these metals is progressively less valuable and represents a different kingdom, the first being Babylon, the empire of Nebuchadnezzar. Looking back through history, the four kingdoms that Daniel predicted were the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman empires.

Daniel also wrote about the future feats of Alexander himself, where the term “horn” often referred to kings or power in biblical prophecy (see also Daniel 11:2-4):

While I was considering, behold, a goat came from the west, crossing the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a notable horn between his eyes… Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he became strong, the great horn was broken, and in its place came up four notable horns toward the four winds of heaven… And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. As for the horn that was broken, in the place of which four others arose, four kingdoms will arise from his nation, but not with his power. – Daniel 8:5, 8, 21-22

Alexander's empire was divided among four of his generals after his death in 323 B.C., but Hellenism continued to spread. Greek became the universal language, and Greek culture spread to all parts of the divided empire. Later, the Maccabees would rebel against Greek rule and establish the Hasmonean dynasty, which lasted 130 years. In the midst of this period, they ruled an independent Jewish kingdom from 104 to 63 B.C. The widespread use of the Greek language would also allow the books of the New Testament to spread rapidly throughout the region.

Conclusion

Researchers believe that the latest discoveries “open a window into what Jerusalem was like during the early Hellenistic period. It seems that, at the time, the city did not extend beyond the top of the hill in the City of David, but then spread slightly to the west, toward the Tyropoeon Valley.”

“We also learned from this excavation that the inhabitants of this area were not peasants settling in empty areas on the periphery of the central area, but rather the opposite – they were affluent people. The discovery of familiar Hellenistic jewelry pieces can teach us about how Hellenistic influences reached Jerusalem during that time.”

“The excavation in ancient Jerusalem reveals invaluable information about our past,” said the head of the IAA, Eli Escusido. Although it may not be on the minds of archaeologists, the evidence of Greek influence also attests to the truth of Daniel's prophecy. The gold ring was displayed to the public for the first time during the free conference “Jerusalem Mysteries” organized by the IAA on June 5 in honor of Jerusalem Day.

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