A gold earring believed to date back more than 2,000 years has been unveiled near the site of the ancient Jewish temples in Jerusalem, in what Israeli archaeologists called rare evidence of Hellenistic influence.
The golden earring dating from the second or third century BC was found in the shadow of the Old City walls in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
“It is unclear whether the gold earring was worn by a man or a woman, nor do we know their cultural or religious identity, but we can say for certain that whoever wore this earring definitely belonged to Jerusalem’s upper class,” an IAA statement said, citing “the quality of the gold piece of jewelry”.
Following the conquest of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, Jerusalem remained under Hellenist rule for the next 200 years.
“We do not know much about Jerusalem in the Hellenistic period,” Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University and co-director of the excavations said.
“This opens a debate about the nature of Jerusalem’s population” at the time, he said.
