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Stunning 1,500-Year-Old Ivory Reliquary Discovered in Austria
Since the summer of 2016, archaeologists from Innsbruck have been excavating a late antique hilltop settlement in the municipality of Irschen in southern Austria. Their efforts have unearthed remarkable findings, but none as sensational as the discovery two years ago: a Christian reliquary hidden in a previously unknown church. This discovery, made on August 4, 2022, by a team led by archaeologist Gerald Grabherr, included a richly decorated ancient ivory reliquary box.
Discovery of a Marble Shrine
A report on the finding by Innsbruck University describes how the archaeologists uncovered a marble shrine measuring approximately 20 by 30 centimeters (8 by 12 inches) under the altar in a side chapel at an early Christian church on the Burgbichl. Inside this shrine was a heavily fragmented ivory "box" or pyx, adorned with intricate Christian motifs.
Reliquaries like this one, often considered the holiest part of a church, are typically removed when a church is abandoned. However, this pyx was left behind, making it the first of its kind found in an archaeological context in Austria.
"We know of around 40 ivory boxes of this kind worldwide, and as far as I know, the last time one of these was found during excavations was around 100 years ago," explained Gerald Grabherr. Most existing pyxes are either preserved in cathedral treasures or exhibited in museums.
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