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According to researchers, the tiny gem seal, the third ever found in Jerusalem from the Second Temple period, was likely the property of a Jew.
A 2,000-year-old gem seal bearing the portrait of the Greek god Apollo has been unearthed in soil removed from the foundation of Jerusalem’s Western Wall during the Tzurim Valley National Park sifting project, the City of David announced in a statement.
According to researchers, this is only the third such gem seal ever found in Jerusalem from the Second Temple period.
The gem is cut from dark brown jasper, considered a precious stone in antiquity, and has remnants of yellow-light, brown, and white layers. Oval-shaped, it is also extremely small, being half an inch in length, two-fifths of an inch wide and only about one-ninth of an inch thick.