Israel on Wednesday unveiled a golden earring dating from the second or third century BC, which was found in the shadow of the Old City walls in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said the artefact, in the Hellenistic style and shaped like a horned animal, was found in October in the City of David National Park, between the Old City and the flashpoint Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan.
However, the finding was not announced publicly until now to give archaeologists time to study the finding and publish an academic paper.
Citing “the quality of the gold piece of jewelry,” an IAA statement said it was not clear whether the gold earring was worn by a man or a woman.
“It is unclear whether the gold earring was worn by a man or a woman, nor do we know their cultural or religious identity, but we can say for certain that whoever wore this earring definitely belonged to Jerusalem’s upper class”.
Following the conquest of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, Jerusalem remained under Hellenist rule for the next 200 years.
Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University and co-director of the excavations told AFP that they don’t know much about Jerusalem in the Hellenistic period.
“This opens a debate about the nature of Jerusalem’s population”.
The City of David is run as an archaeological park by hardline settler organisation, Elad; which seeks to bolster the Jewish presence in mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem.
