‘Christ Born of Mary’ Inscription Found in Northern Israel Joshua Shuman
1,500-year-old inscription enriches knowledge of early Christian presence in Jezreel Valley
Archaeologists recently discovered a stone marked with a 1,500-year-old inscription reading, in Greek, “Christ born of Mary,” at a site in Israel’s Jezreel Valley.
The stone inscribed “Christ born of Mary.” (Tzachi Lang, Israel Antiquities Authority)
The engraved stone was part of a lintel from a Late Byzantine period (late fifth century) church entrance.
Recovered at the et-Taiyiba village excavation site, on the northeast side of Jezreel Valley between the modern cities of Afula and Beit Shean, during a salvage dig prior to the building of a road on the site, the inscription was found incorporated into the wall of a later period building.