The medallion found in Ein Karem. Photo Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority.
In Jerusalem’s Ein Karem neighborhood, a child on a school trip stumbled upon a 100-year-old cross medallion—a tangible link to generations of Christian pilgrims who journeyed to the Holy Land.
Ten year old Nehorai Nir recently went on a class trip to picturesque Ein Karem in Jerusalem as a student in Jerusalem’s Argentina Experimental High School in Kiryat Hayovel. “We were picking edible plants, and I was surprised to see on the slope below me a beautiful red pomegranate lying there on the ground,” Nir recounts. “I ran to pick it up and discovered a worm inside, so I reluctantly put it down—but on the way back up the hill I sufddenly saw a colorful object shining in the dirt. I pulled it out and was immediately very excited. The staff told me to call the Israel Antiquities Authority, and when they came, they were very enthused.”
A beautiful golden cross medallion, crafted using the micro-mosaic technique, has been examined by Dr. Amit Re’em of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Although dating from the 19th or early 20th century (100-200 years old), and therefore not legally an antiquity, the piece is considered unique. This technique, developed in Rome around 1800 and used until the early 20th century, required expert craftsmanship to set tiny colorful stones and glass with great precision, creating miniature patterns. The medallion’s discovery in Ein Karem, a site revered in Christianity, underscores its historical and religious significance.
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Christians venerate Ein Karem because it is identified with the “town in Judah” where the New Testament places the birth of John the Baptist, and where the text says his mother Elizabeth, while pregnant, met Jesus’ mother Miriam. Christian tradition is that this meeting took place by a neighborhood well. Today there is a well in the Ein Karem neighborhood—and its suggested identification associates it with this story. It is against this background that two churches were established in Ein Karem, the Church of the Visitation and the Church of Saint John. They drew generations of pilgrims from across Europe to make Ein Karem a central vistation site, as they made their way from the coastal port cities up to the Old City of Jerusalem.
It is interesting that there are two-thousand-year-old remains in Ein Karem— a ritual purification immersion pool, called miqve in Hebrew, as well as tombs—the time of Elisheva and Miriam according to Christian faith.
Nehorai Nir, ten years old. Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority
“This cross is a testament to the personal story of a pilgrim who visited Ein Karem 100–200 years ago, reflecting the centrality of the Holy Land to the three monotheistic religions,” added Dr. Re’em. “People were willing to cross deserts, mountains, and seas, often over the course of years, just to touch the soil where it all began. The cross may have arrived with a pilgrim from Europe and fallen during their journey in the Land of Israel, or perhaps it was purchased here in Jerusalem. When Nehorai shared the story of the discovery, one could almost imagine the moment the pendant was lost—only to be found by the boy about a century later.”
