For many years, Israeli archaeologists have recruited volunteers to engage in the time-consuming project of sifting through rubble to look for ancient artifacts. One such volunteer, an eighteen-year-old Israeli named Hallel Feidman, recently found something very unusual, as the Algemeiner reports:
A gold bead dating back to at least the 5th century has been unearthed in the City of David in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday, in a find that has been described as “very, very special.” The bead was crafted using unique and delicate workmanship, which saw multiple small gold balls affixed together in a ring pattern. It was nestled in dirt removed from a Roman structure uncovered in the excavation of the Pilgrimage Road, a roughly 2,000-year-old pathway in the City of David that is believed to have been used to ascend to the Second Temple.
Amir Golani, a jewelry expert with the Israel Antiquities Authority, said the find was remarkable. “Throughout all my years in archaeology, I have found gold perhaps once or twice, so to find gold jewelry, is something very, very special.”
The bead is likely part of a necklace or bracelet that required additional beads, he noted. “Whoever could afford a piece like this made from gold was an affluent person, with means.”
Read more on Algemeiner: https://www.timesofisrael.com/rare-1600-year-old-gold-bead-found-by-teenager-in-jerusalems-city-of-david/