earliest known evidence of christianity Archaeologists have recently unveiled a mystery in northern Italy, calling the discovery one of the "most important testimonies of early Christianity."

The artifact, unveiled last week by the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum, is known as the Frankfurt Silver Inscription. The inscription was discovered in 2018 and, after years of analysis and research, was finally released to the public this month.

The Frankfurt Silver Inscription is an engraving on the silver foil and consists of 18 lines of Latin writing. Dating to between 230 and 260 AD, it was found wrapped in a small silver amulet.

In a press release translated from German, the museum explained that the artifact was discovered in a third-century tomb in Hesse, Germany, in what was once the Roman city of Nida. The inscription begins: "In the name of Saint Titus, holy, holy, holy! In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God!"

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Experts recently decoded and published the earliest evidence of Christianity found in a third-century tomb north of the Alps. (Frankfurt Archaeological Museum)

Saint Titus was a first-century Christian missionary and a disciple of the Apostle Paul. The inscription also calls for the amulet to protect "those who are devoted to the will of the Lord. Jesus Christ, Son of God.

“Every tongue confesses (to Jesus Christ) in heaven and on earth and under the earth,” the text concludes.

The inscription is in Latin and took several weeks to decipher because of its deteriorated condition. Archaeologists needed to "digitally unfold" the silver foil, which had been wrinkled for about 1,800 years.

Using computed tomography and state-of-the-art technical equipment, the text was finally declassified in May. Then it was translated for a long time.

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Early Christian inscriptions were written in Latin, which was unusual for the time. (Frankfurt Archaeological Museum)

"Sometimes it takes me weeks or even months to find my next idea," Goethe University professor Markus Scholz said of the translation process. “I brought in experts in the history of theology and so on, and together we worked through the text piece by piece and ultimately deciphered it.”

Scholz added that the inscription was "very complex" and called its author "a well-crafted writer."

"The inscription is entirely in Latin, which is very unusual," Scholz said. "This was unusual for the time. Such inscriptions were usually written on amulets in Greek or Hebrew."

Not only is the inscription not written in Hebrew, it contains no reference to Judaism at all, nor any pagan elements, making it even more unique.

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The silver foil was "digitally unfolded" and translated by experts. (Frankfurt Archaeological Museum)

"It is unusual that the inscription does not mention any other faith than Christianity," the museum's press release adds. "Usually up until the fifth century, a mixture of different faiths can always be expected in such precious metal amulets. Often there is still a Jewish or Elements of Pagan Influence.”

"But in this amulet there is no mention of Jehovah, the Almighty God of Judaism, nor of the archangels Raphael, Gabriel, Michael or Suriel, nor of the likes of Isaac or Jacob ancestors of Israel.

A press release called the artifact "one of the most important testimonies." early christianity worldwide.

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"So far, there is no such early, authentic evidence of the purity of Christianity north of the Alps," the statement explained. "All (other) finds are at least about 50 years younger."

The silver foil was found in a third-century tomb. (Frankfurt Archaeological Museum)

"The historiography mentions the earliest Christian groups in Gaul and even Germania Superior at the end of the second century," the statement added. "However, some evidence of Christian life in the Alpine regions of the northern Roman Empire usually comes only from the fourth century AD."

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"Experts agree that these 18 lines will greatly enrich previous research on the spread of Christianity and the late Roman rule on the right bank of the Rhine."