A silver cross embossed on the front of a Byzantine weight from Sosita that was deliberately covered and discovered in the excavations of the University of Haifa makes it possible for the first time to trace the relationships between the young Islamic rule and the Byzantine Christian culture
A brass weight weighing about 160 grams, found in the archaeological excavations of the University of Haifa in the city of Susita, reveals a unique testimony, the first of its kind, to the delicate relations between the Christian inhabitants and the new Muslim rulers from the middle of the seventh century AD. "Almost randomly, we discovered a stain that covered the cross on the front of the weight. We were sure at the beginning that it was dirt, it was in fact a deliberate cover-up of the religious-Christian symbol by the Christian population itself, so that it could continue to be used as leverage against the new Muslim authorities. This is the first time we have found a dumbbell with a mask of this kind on it," said Dr. Michael Isenberg from the Institute of Archeology at the University of Haifa, head of the Susita excavation expedition.
Susita National Park, which is under the management of the Nature and Parks Authority, was excavated by a delegation from the Institute of Archeology of the University of Haifa starting in 2000. Susita was established as early as the second century BC and later became a capital city during the Roman and Byzantine periods. The city was destroyed by the strong earthquake of 749, when the land-Israel space was controlled by the first Islamic caliphate from the Umayyad House - which conquered the land in the middle of the seventh century.
It is known from many historical testimonies that at least at the beginning of the Muslim rule, the new government treated the Christian population with relatively great tolerance. Evidence of this can be found in Susita itself where there are at least seven churches, most of which continued to function during this period and no sign of destruction was found in them. Even the huge basalt crosses that were discovered in the excavations and decorated the tops of the gables of the churches, did not pose any problem for the Muslim government. However, this small find, weighing about 160 grams, provides unique and first-of-its-kind testimony to the delicate fabric of relations between the new government and the old residents - and along the way, also provides a mysterious and unusual story.
In the northwest church complex, Dr. Bradley Bowlin using a metal detector discovered a small brass weight from the Byzantine period. Similar weights have already been found in the past and this one too was handed over without special expectations to Dr. Alexander Yarmulin, director of the conservation laboratory at the Institute of Archeology at the University of Haifa. A few weeks later, Dr. Yarmolin returned to Dr. Isenberg with the news - it turns out that a dark and strange stain on the front of the barbell was hiding a cross embossed with silver, while the rest of the decorated parts of the barbell were not hidden. "At first we thought it was a random infection and we were going to simply remove the dark spot and continue with the preservation, but something smelled suspicious to us and we decided to stop," said Dr. Isenberg.
Instead of removing the disgraceful stain, they handed over the weight to Prof. Shariel Shalio from the University of Haifa, an expert in the study of ancient metals. After he performed a chemical characterization of the weight and the stain, he discovered that while the weight is made of brass, the stain is made of a metal paste consisting of lead and tin, and that it was indeed deliberately drawn onto the cross. "The melting temperature of the paste is about a third of the melting temperature of the rest of the weight's components, and since people at that time had excellent knowledge of plowing, it was clear that the stain was put there on purpose. In addition, small parts of the silver cross were removed in order to leave the weight of the barbell unchanged - so there was no doubt that it was not a coincidence," said Prof. Shalio.
In the last step, radiographic and ultrasonic imaging was performed in the laboratories of the Sorek Nuclear Research Center by Dr. Itzik Hershko, Dr. Dan Brightman and Dr. Tzvia Shmol in order to confirm the manner of its manufacture and its unique decorations. At the end of the laboratory tests, it underwent a full preservation process and thus returned to look almost as it was about 1,500 years ago: its dimensions were x 45 43 mm and its weight 158.9 grams; On its front is a silver embossed cross standing on a semi-circular plinth; Two Greek letters embossed on top of the weight indicated its value: 6 ounces; The decoration on the front of the barbell symbolized the cross on Golgotha Hill, the place of Christ's crucifixion in Jerusalem, while the arch and pillars represented the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
Now the researchers are left to wonder why someone covered the cross - when he does not deface the weight but continues to use it for its original purpose. According to Dr. Isenberg, the reason, apparently, lies in the Muslim conquest of the country in the middle of the seventh century AD. On the one hand, the Muslims allow the Christian residents to continue worshiping, but even their religious tolerance has limits. "The cross was deliberately covered by the people of the church during the early Islamic period so that they could use this weight and the other weights in their official kit in the central church in the city while they were working with the Muslim administrator in Tiberias. This is exactly the line that can be drawn during this period of change of government, between considerable freedom in religion and culture and the point at which a Muslim official is forced to hold in front of him a distinct Christian symbol." Dr. Isenberg concludes.
The study of the weight and its meaning was recently published in the Israel Exploration Journal.
The barbell is on display at the Hecht Museum, Haifa University in the exhibition: "Before the earth shook - the ancient city of Susita revealed for the first time".
