Ancient Reliquary Showing Moses, Ten Commandments Discovered

Archaeologists from the University of Innsbruck excavating the site of an early Christian church have discovered a marble shrine containing a reliquary box depicting Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.

The shrine contained a heavily fragmented 1,500-year-old ivory box, or pyx, richly decorated with Christian motifs, according to a press release from the Austrian university.

"We know of around 40 ivory boxes of this kind worldwide and, as far as I know, the last time one of these was found during excavations was around 100 years ago — the few pyxes that exist are either preserved in cathedral treasures or exhibited in museums," lead archaeologist Gerald Grabherr said.

The box was found under an altar inside a chapel at the summit of the small hill of Burgbichl, in the municipality of Irschen.

Normally, when a church is abandoned, a reliquary is taken away as the "holiest" part. In this case, however, it was left behind, making it the first such pyx to be discovered on an archaeological dig in Austria.

The reliquary was unearthed nearly two years ago but only recently conserved to the point where it can be scientifically analyzed.

"Ivory, especially ivory stored on the ground like in the marble shrine, absorbs moisture from its surroundings and is very soft and easily damaged in this state," Ulrike Töchterle, head of the restoration workshop at Innsbruck, said. "In addition, uncontrolled drying out can lead to shrinkage and cracks and thus to damage that can no longer be repaired.

"Due to the very high humidity of 90 per cent in the marble shrine immediately after salvage, the risk of condensation and mould formation was very high, and the contents could not be allowed to dry out too quickly," she added. "This meant we had to ensure a very careful and prolonged drying process."

The pyx cannot be restored to its original state because the larger parts are deformed, but the researchers are working to develop a 3D reconstruction.

One motif depicts a man at the foot of a mountain with his gaze turned away and a hand rising out of the sky above him, placing something between the person's arms.

"This is the typical depiction of the handing over of the laws to Moses on Mount Sinai, the beginning of the covenant between God and man from the Old Testament," Grabherr said.

Other biblical figures are then depicted, followed by a man in a two-horse chariot in the last motif being pulled up into heaven by a hand coming out of the clouds.

"We assume that this is a depiction of the ascension of Christ, the fulfillment of the covenant with God," Grabherr said. "The depiction of scenes from the Old Testament and their connection with scenes from the New Testament is typical of late antiquity and thus fits in with our pyx; however, the depiction of the Ascension of Christ with a so-called biga, a two-horse chariot, is very special and previously unknown."

Töchterle said further analysis on the origin of the marble and ivory, as well as the box's metallic components, glue and wooden parts was ongoing.

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