Armenian inscriptions found in Jerusalem offer glimpse into early Christian community
Archaeologists reveal new evidence of Armenian presence north of Damascus Gate in the 6th–7th centuries AD.
Recent excavations in Jerusalem’s Musrara neighborhood revealed four Armenian inscriptions dating from the sixth to seventh centuries CE, providing what scholar Michael E. Stone calls “completely new historical information concerning the Christian, and particularly Armenian, settlement in Jerusalem in the seventh century CE.”
According to Stone, “the inscriptions were found on a mosaic floor, on tombstones and on a large pottery bowl, and together with the Birds Mosaic, they probably formed part of one monastic complex, in which Armenians played a significant role.”
The most striking discovery is the mosaic inscription found in the center of a reception room. The mosaic contains a dedication by a priest named Ewstat‘: “I Ewstat‘ the priest laid this mosaic. (You) who enter this house, remember me and my brother Luke to Christ.”
Stone highlights, “The inscription is written in impeccable Ancient Armenian.” He adds, “For ‘mosaic,’ the inscription uses a rather rare word, which does not occur on any of the other Jerusalem mosaics known to date.”
The inscription’s dating was confirmed by archaeological evidence: coins discovered within a dark gray material, comprising mortar mixed with charcoal, in which the mosaic was laid. The latest coin was a “Byzanto-Arab coin from the mid-seventh century.”
Further finds include two tombstones. One reads “of Petros of Sodk‘”, identifying the deceased as hailing from the Armenian region of Siwnik‘. A second stone bears simply the name “Abel.”
Of particular interest is the suggestion of Armenian-Greek coexistence in the complex. Stone notes that a Greek inscription, palaeographically dated to the early seventh century, was discovered in the same church apse. “The Armenian Church rejected the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE… The process of separation, however, was a gradual one,” Stone notes.
The study was published in the journal Atiqot (Vol. 116).
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
