A 1,700-year-old ceramic oil lamp, adorned with images of the Bais Hamikdash’s menorah, has been discovered in Yerushalayim, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Thursday.

The lamp, dated to the Late Roman Period, was found intact during an archaeological excavation on Har Hazeisim earlier this year, but the IAA waited to make the announcement to coincide with Chanukah.

The discovery offers a rare glimpse into Jewish life around Yerushalayim during the 3rd to 5th centuries CE, more than two centuries after the Romans destroyed the Second Bais Hamikdash. The lamp features depictions of the menorah, a ketores shovel, and a lulav.

“The fact that the lamp was found completely intact makes it an outstanding and extremely rare find,” said Michael Chernin, the excavation’s director. He noted the scarcity of archaeological evidence of Jewish presence in Yerushalayim from this period, following the expulsion of Jews after the failed Bar Kochva revolt in 135 CE.

IAA archaeologist Benjamin Storchan explained the significance of the menorah imagery, highlighting how the symbol became central to Jewish identity after the Bais Hamikdash’s destruction. “This unique oil lamp, bearing symbols of the Temple, bridges the lights of the past with today’s Chanukah celebrations,” said Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu.

The lamp will be publicly displayed for the first time at the National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Yerushalayim during Chanukah.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)