For as long as pilgrims have flocked to the Holy Land, locals have apparently been peddling them souvenirs and trinkets.

In a rare find, Israeli archaeologists recently uncovered the tools used some 1,400 years ago to make mementos for the travelers who made their way to the Land of Israel to visit the key sites associated with the life of Jesus and other saints as Christianity became firmly established as the Roman Empire’s dominant religion.

A Byzantine mold to craft small flasks featuring an elaborate cross and inscribed with the Greek words “Lord’s blessing from the holy places,” was among several notable artifacts recently unearthed at the Hyrcania archaeological site in the Judean Desert in the West Bank, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem told The Times of Israel on Thursday. The inscription was deciphered by Dr. Avner Ecker.

Other finds include gold coins, a ring, and the lid of a stone reliquary.

The limestone mold was used to produce vessels known as “ampullae,” which appear to have been popular gifts taken home by the pilgrims.

A large number of similar flasks dated to the 6th/7th centuries CE were found, among others, in the Monza Cathedral in Northern Italy, donated by the local 7th-century king and queen, Agilulf and Theodolinda.

“These types of vessels were produced at the height of the Byzantine period in the Land of Israel, part of the flourishing Christian pilgrimage industry,” said archaeologist Michal Haber, who co-directs the excavations at Hyrcania with Dr. Oren Gutfeld.

The third season of excavations at the site opened last month and is ongoing. The mold is one of the most recent finds. Although their research is still in the preliminary stage, Gutfeld said that, at present, they are not aware of any similar artifact having been found.

The dig is a joint project by the Hebrew University and the Archaeology Unit at the Civil Administration, a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator for Government Affairs in the Territories (COGAT), which manages civilian affairs in the West Bank. It combines salvage excavations and academic........

© The Times of Israel