Archaeologists working on a desert ruin in the West Bank have discovered an early medieval inscription and gold ring. The rare inscription is in Byzantine Greek and contains a version of a verse from the Biblical Book of Psalms.
A team from Hebrew University made the discovery while working on the site of Hyrcania Fortress in the Judean Desert / El-Bariyah. Located on a hilltop east of Bethlehem, it was one of a series of desert-fortresses first established by the Hasmonean dynasty in the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE. The site became a small Christian monastery in 492 CE and was in use until the early 9th century. The site is known also by its Arabic moniker, Khirbet el-Mird, or “Ruins of the Fortress.”
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Although a few isolated investigations of the site had been sporadically undertaken in the past, no methodological, academic archaeological excavation had ever been conducted—until now. Complex access and logistics have long played a role. However, recently a team led by Hebrew University’s Dr. Oren Gutfeld and Michal Haber, with the support of Carson-Newman University and American Veterans Archaeological Recovery, spent four weeks at the site, uncovering key evidence of the site’s remarkable history.
Archaeologists working on Hyrcania / Khirbet el-Mird – photo courtesy The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
During this initial “pilot” season, efforts were primarily focused on two key areas. In the southeastern corner of the summit, a segment of the prominent upper fortification line was uncovered, a vital component of the fortress dating back to approximately the late 2nd or 1st century BCE.
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In the northeast, the team peeled away a deep collapse layer of building stones to unearth an elongated hall lined with piers, part of the lower level of an expansive compound constructed of finely drafted stones. Its original date of construction has yet to be determined, though it likely comprised part of the monastery.
Over the course of excavation, a sizeable building stone was discovered lying on the plastered floor of the hall, bearing lines of text painted in red, with a simple cross at its peak. Haber and Gutfeld immediately recognized the inscription as written in Koine Greek—the dominant language of the Byzantine Empire—but called on their colleague, expert epigraphist Dr. Avner Ecker of Bar-Ilan University, to decipher it.
Dr. Ecker was able to identify the readable text as a paraphrase of Psalms 86: 1–2, known as “a prayer of David.” While the original lines are “Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to you,” the Hyrcania version reads:
† Jesus Christ, guard me, for I am poor and needy.
“This psalm holds a special place in the Masoretic text as a designated prayer and is notably one of the most frequently recited psalms in Christian liturgy,” Dr. Ecker explains. “Thus, the monk drew a graffito of a cross onto the wall, accompanied by a prayer with which he was very familiar.”
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Judging by the epigraphic style, he assigns the inscription a date within the first half of the 6th century CE. Ecker also points out the presence of a few grammatical errors typical of Byzantine Palestine, which can be attributed to individuals whose native language was a Semitic one. He suggests, “These minor errors indicate that the priest was not a native Greek speaker, but likely someone from the region who was raised speaking a Semitic language.”
A few days following this initial discovery, an additional inscription was found nearby. It was also inscribed on a building stone from a collapsed wall and is currently undergoing analysis. Michal Haber emphasizes the profound significance of these findings, stating, “Few items hold such importance in the historical and archaeological record as do inscriptions—and it must be stressed that these are virtually the first examples from the site to have originated in an orderly, documented context. We are familiar with the papyrus fragments that came to light in the early 1950s, but they are all of shaky, unreliable provenance. These recent discoveries are truly exceptional.”
Umayyad-era ring discovered – photo courtesy The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
In addition, a child-sized gold ring, a little over 1 cm in diameter and adorned with a turquoise stone, was found on site. What adds to the special nature of the discovery is the miniature inscription incised in Arabic Kufic script on the stone. Dr. Nitzan Amitai-Preiss, an expert in Early Arabic epigraphy at The Hebrew University, was able to decipher the inscription as “مَا شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ” (Mashallah), which translates to “God has willed it.” She dates the script style to the time of the Umayyad caliphate, which reigned during the 7th and 8th centuries CE. Dr. Amitai-Preiss also observed a unique feature in the inscription: two of the three words were mirror images, strongly suggesting that the ring may have originally served as a seal.
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The origin of the turquoise stone itself adds another layer of historical intrigue. It was likely sourced in the newly conquered territory of the Sassanid Empire (modern-day Iran), part of the expanding Umayyad caliphate. The exact path this remarkable artifact took to reach Hyrcania remains a mystery, as is the identity of whoever wore it.
Archaeologists working on a desert ruin in the West Bank have discovered an early medieval inscription and gold ring. The rare inscription is in Byzantine Greek and contains a version of a verse from the Biblical Book of Psalms.
A team from Hebrew University made the discovery while working on the site of Hyrcania Fortress in the Judean Desert / El-Bariyah. Located on a hilltop east of Bethlehem, it was one of a series of desert-fortresses first established by the Hasmonean dynasty in the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE. The site became a small Christian monastery in 492 CE and was in use until the early 9th century. The site is known also by its Arabic moniker, Khirbet el-Mird, or “Ruins of the Fortress.”
Although a few isolated investigations of the site had been sporadically undertaken in the past, no methodological, academic archaeological excavation had ever been conducted—until now. Complex access and logistics have long played a role. However, recently a team led by Hebrew University’s Dr. Oren Gutfeld and Michal Haber, with the support of Carson-Newman University and American Veterans Archaeological Recovery, spent four weeks at the site, uncovering key evidence of the site’s remarkable history.
During this initial “pilot” season, efforts were primarily focused on two key areas. In the southeastern corner of the summit, a segment of the prominent upper fortification line was uncovered, a vital component of the fortress dating back to approximately the late 2nd or 1st century BCE.
In the northeast, the team peeled away a deep collapse layer of building stones to unearth an elongated hall lined with piers, part of the lower level of an expansive compound constructed of finely drafted stones. Its original date of construction has yet to be determined, though it likely comprised part of the monastery.
Over the course of excavation, a sizeable building stone was discovered lying on the plastered floor of the hall, bearing lines of text painted in red, with a simple cross at its peak. Haber and Gutfeld immediately recognized the inscription as written in Koine Greek—the dominant language of the Byzantine Empire—but called on their colleague, expert epigraphist Dr. Avner Ecker of Bar-Ilan University, to decipher it.
Dr. Ecker was able to identify the readable text as a paraphrase of Psalms 86: 1–2, known as “a prayer of David.” While the original lines are “Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to you,” the Hyrcania version reads:
† Ἰ(η)σοῦ Χ(ριστ)ὲ
φύλαξ<ο>ν με ὅτι
[π]τ<ω>χὸς (καὶ)
[π]έν[ης] <εἰ>μὶ <ἐ>γώ
† Jesus Christ, guard me, for I am poor and needy.
“This psalm holds a special place in the Masoretic text as a designated prayer and is notably one of the most frequently recited psalms in Christian liturgy,” Dr. Ecker explains. “Thus, the monk drew a graffito of a cross onto the wall, accompanied by a prayer with which he was very familiar.”
Judging by the epigraphic style, he assigns the inscription a date within the first half of the 6th century CE. Ecker also points out the presence of a few grammatical errors typical of Byzantine Palestine, which can be attributed to individuals whose native language was a Semitic one. He suggests, “These minor errors indicate that the priest was not a native Greek speaker, but likely someone from the region who was raised speaking a Semitic language.”
A few days following this initial discovery, an additional inscription was found nearby. It was also inscribed on a building stone from a collapsed wall and is currently undergoing analysis. Michal Haber emphasizes the profound significance of these findings, stating, “Few items hold such importance in the historical and archaeological record as do inscriptions—and it must be stressed that these are virtually the first examples from the site to have originated in an orderly, documented context. We are familiar with the papyrus fragments that came to light in the early 1950s, but they are all of shaky, unreliable provenance. These recent discoveries are truly exceptional.”
In addition, a child-sized gold ring, a little over 1 cm in diameter and adorned with a turquoise stone, was found on site. What adds to the special nature of the discovery is the miniature inscription incised in Arabic Kufic script on the stone. Dr. Nitzan Amitai-Preiss, an expert in Early Arabic epigraphy at The Hebrew University, was able to decipher the inscription as “مَا شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ” (Mashallah), which translates to “God has willed it.” She dates the script style to the time of the Umayyad caliphate, which reigned during the 7th and 8th centuries CE. Dr. Amitai-Preiss also observed a unique feature in the inscription: two of the three words were mirror images, strongly suggesting that the ring may have originally served as a seal.
The origin of the turquoise stone itself adds another layer of historical intrigue. It was likely sourced in the newly conquered territory of the Sassanid Empire (modern-day Iran), part of the expanding Umayyad caliphate. The exact path this remarkable artifact took to reach Hyrcania remains a mystery, as is the identity of whoever wore it.
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