Israeli archaeologists working in the ancient Roman city of Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast recently announced that they had found a unique artifact made of mother-of-pearl and etched with a six-branched menorah. Ilan Ben Zion writes:
The artifact, the first [ever found that was] made of the precious material bearing Jewish iconography, was among an assortment of discoveries made by the Israel Antiquities Authority amid new excavations carried out as part of the restoration of the ancient port. It was found close to a Roman-era temple dedicated to Augustus Caesar that was constructed by King Herod in the first century BCE, but [the object] dates to the 4th or 5th century CE.
According to the archaeologist Peter Gendelman, the small slab of mother-of-pearl . . . “points to a clear Jewish presence at Caesarea during this period.” The tablet came from what was “probably some kind of box,” he added, “I can even say probably for a Torah scroll.”
Read more on Times of Israel: http://www.timesofisrael.com/unique-mother-of-pearl-menorah-etching-found-in-ancient-caesarea/