Yavne's gold ring

During archaeological investigations carried out in today's Yavne , an Israeli town, a very particular ring was found, made of gold with a purple stone set in the center, perhaps an amethyst. According to ancient jewelry expert Amir Golani, the presence of this stone is not accidental. Indeed, “amethysts are mentioned in the Bible as one of the 12 precious stones worn by the high priest of the Temple on his ceremonial breastplate. Many virtues have been attributed to these stones, including prevention from alcohol side effects, hangover ”.
This function would be confirmed by the place where the jewel was found: a few meters from the largest wine production plant of the Byzantine era ever found. On the outskirts of Yavne, located on the busy via maris , the famous Gaza or Ashkelon wine was produced, marketed throughout the Mediterranean. Archaeologists estimated that the plant could produce more than 2 million liters of wine per year. The city was an important center in the region, in fact it had several manufacturing plants, 3 large churches and housed a bishop.

As for the ring, not everyone is convinced that its main function was to prevent the after-effects of alcohol consumption. Elie Haddad, director of the excavations, in fact states: «The person who owned the ring wanted to avoid intoxication resulting from the consumption of a lot of wine? We will probably never know. ' In fact, even if the jewel was found 150 meters from a large warehouse of amphorae ready to be filled, there is no certainty about the identity of its owner. "It is possible that the ring belonged to the owner of the magnificent warehouse - continues Haddad - to a foreman, or simply to an unfortunate visitor, who has lost his precious ring". Dating is also not safe. In fact, although it has been found in an archaeological layer dated to the Byzantine period, precious rings like this one may have been handed down generation after generation for centuries, up to the Roman period, for which amethyst rings have been known since the 3rd century. br />

Agnese Picco
NP December 2021