Medallion with Jewish symbols, Byzantine Empire, 3rd-6th century

This rare gold medallion has Jewish religious symbols and an inscription in Greek. Its precise origins are unknown, but Greek was widely used in the Roman and Byzantine empires, and Jewish communities had developed around the Mediterranean. The Jewish symbols decorating the medallion are the menorah (the candelabrum from the Temple in Jerusalem); a shofa (ram’s horn blown at the Jewish High Holidays), and a lulav (a closed frond of date palm tree, used during the festival of Sukkot).