Archaeologists at the Türkmen Karahöyük site in Konya, central Turkey, have uncovered a 1,500-year-old Christian amulet containing a paper-thin sheet of gold. Experts believe the gold sheet, measuring just 0.1 millimeters in thickness and housed inside a copper case, most likely bears a passage from the Bible.

The discovery was reported by the Turkish state media outlet Anadolu Agency (AA) earlier this summer. An international team of approximately 60 researchers from 13 countries was excavating the site when the amulet was found.

Dating back to the fourth or fifth centuries A.D., the amulet comes from a formative period in Christian history. According to Massa, who commented on the find, the amulet probably belonged to a small child and can be thought of as similar to an evil-eye charm. He also noted that only one similar example has been found before, in Germany.

In addition to the amulet, archaeologists uncovered a stone seal bearing a hieroglyphic Luwian inscription dating to roughly 1500–1400 B.C., linked to Kurunta, an important god in the Hittite world. The Luwians were an ancient people inhabiting parts of Anatolia during the Bronze and Iron Ages.

This find adds to ongoing research into ancient Christian artifacts and biblical history.

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