Child finds unique decorated cross on Jerusalem field trip
While on a class foraging walk, boy, 10, discovers small Christian artifact encrusted with intricate mosaic decorations that points to Jerusalem’s history as a pilgrimage center
Gavriel Fiske is a reporter at The Times of Israel
While on an organized field trip in the Ein Kerem neighborhood of Jerusalem earlier this month, a young child found an unusual, small cross pendant estimated to be 100-200 years old, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Sunday, adding that it pointed to the Holy City’s importance as a pilgrimage site over the centuries.
The students, from a school in the adjacent neighborhood of Kiryat Hayovel, were on a foraging trip in Ein Kerem “picking edible plants… I suddenly saw a colorful object shining in the dirt. I pulled it out and was immediately very excited. The staff told me to call the Israel Antiquities Authority, and when they came, they were very enthused,” said 10-year-old Nehorai Nir.
He found the cross by chance, after moving away from the group to pick up a pomegranate on the ground, which he then saw had a worm inside, and only found the cross while coming back up the hill, Nir said.
The small cross, “a beautiful golden medallion made with a micro-mosaic technique” developed in Rome around 1800 and used until the early 20th century, is “a unique object,” the IAA said.
“The manufacturing method demanded expert craftsmanship which includes setting glass and tiny colorful precious stones, placed with exceeding precision to form miniature patterns,” said Dr. Amit Re’em, IAA Jerusalem District archaeologist.
“This cross is a testament to the personal story of a pilgrim who visited Ein Kerem… People were willing to cross deserts, mountains and seas, often over the course of years, just to touch the soil where it all began. The cross may have arrived with a pilgrim from Europe and fallen during their journey in the Land of Israel, or perhaps it was purchased here in Jerusalem,” Re’em said.
Ein Kerem, a picturesque, hilly neighborhood on the western outskirts of Jerusalem, is a popular tourist destination long associated with Christianity and identified as the birthplace of John the Baptist. Two ancient churches, the Church of the Visitation and the Church of Saint John, have been pilgrimage sites for centuries, as Christian travelers would stop in Ein Kerem on their way up to Jerusalem’s Old City.
As the cross was manufactured after 1700, the small artifact is not considered an antiquity by Israeli law and therefore it was not required to turn in the find, the IAA noted.
“I would like to personally thank Nehorai for his alertness and his prompt report of the medallion’s discovery,” said IAA director Eli Escusido, who noted that the find “puts the spotlight on Ein Kerem as a central place of Christian pilgrimage in the Land of Israel.”
