Archaeologists have discovered a nearly 1,800-year-old silver amulet in Germany that provides the earliest evidence of Christianity north of the Alps.

The artifact, known as the “Frankfurt Silver Inscription,” was discovered during excavations in 2017-18 after researchers digitally unrolled a tiny scroll inside the amulet, revealing an unusual Latin inscription.

It will likely help historians understand how Christianity was practiced in the early Roman Empire. The 1.4-inch amulet contains a wafer-thin sheet of silver foil that has been rolled tightly.

It was discovered in the grave of a man between the ages of 25 and 35 who was buried in a cemetery on Heilmannstrasse on the outskirts of Frankfurt. The man likely wore the amulet on a cord around his neck, the researchers concluded, since it was found just below his chin.

The purpose of such amulets, also called phylacteries, was to “protect or heal their owners from a range of misfortunes such as disease, physical pain, infertility or even demonic forces,” according to Tine Rassale, an independent biblical archaeologist who was not directly involved was in research, says LiveScience.

“In a time without advanced medical knowledge, such items were vital sources of comfort and security for you and your loved ones,” she added. Since the use of these amulets was rarer in the Western Roman world, their discovery in Germany “suggests that Christian ideas had already begun to penetrate areas far from Christianity’s early growth centers.”

Experts at the Leibniz Center for Archeology (Leiza) in Mainz conserved, restored and analyzed the artifact for several years after its discovery before publishing the results in a statement on December 11th.

“The challenge in the analysis was that the silver sheet was rolled, but of course it was also folded and pressed after about 1,800 years,” Ivan Calandra, head of the imaging platform at Leiza, said in the statement.

“Using CT we were able to scan it at very high resolution and create a 3D model.”

This uncovered 18 lines of text, known as the “Frankfurt Silver Inscription,” which were deciphered by Professor Markus Scholz, an archaeologist at the Goethe University in Frankfurt. It contains references to Saint Titus, a student and confidante of the Apostle Paul.

“Sometimes it took weeks, even months, until I had the next idea,” said Professor Scholz. “I called in experts from the history of theology, among other things, and together we worked through the text piece by piece and finally deciphered it.”

The translation is as follows:

(In the name?) of Saint Titus.

Holy, holy, holy!

In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God!

The Lord of the World

defends himself to the best of his ability

all attacks(?)/relapses(?).

The god(?) gives well-being

Permit.

This rescue device(?) protects

the person who

surrenders to the will

of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God,

since before Jesus Christ

Bend all knees: the heavenly ones,

the earthly and

the underground and every tongue

confess (to Jesus Christ).

The most important aspect of the find is its age, according to a press release from the Frankfurt city government. The grave in which the amulet was found is dated to between 230 and 270 AD, making it the first example of “such authentic evidence of pure Christianity north of the Alps” during this period.

To date, the earliest reliable evidence of Christian life in the northern Alpine regions of the Roman Empire generally dates to the 4th century AD, making it at least 50 years younger than the newly discovered artifact.