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The 800 - year - older stamp was probable once doctor to a text file have to the farm from a sprawl cliffside monastery in theJudean Desertthat was founded by Saint Sabas ( " Mar Saba " in Aramaic ) and once housed hundreds of monks .
This type ofancient sealwas also have a go at it as a bulla in Latin . It consisted of two blank tether disks that would have been hammer together with a drawstring between them . Opening the letter would cause obvious damage to the bulla , which was intended to discourage unauthorised people from break the sealskin .
The seal bears the image of the bearded Saint Sabas (also known as Mar Saba) holding a cross.
One side of the seal of approval bears the image of the bearded Byzantine - era Saint Sabas , who is wear a himation ( basically a Grecian version of a toga ) , brandishing a interbreeding in his right hand and perhaps holding a copy of the church doctrine in his unexpended hired man . The other side of the seal is etched with a Greek dedication , translated as : " This is the seal of the Laura of the Holy Sabas . " ( The monastery was also call the " Great Laura " of Mar Saba . A laura , or lavra , is a type of Orthodox Christian monastery that has a cluster of caves for hermit monks . )
The stamp was uncovered during mining in 2012 in southwestern Jerusalem ’s Bayit VeGan fourth . The farm situation was plant during the Byzantine menstruation ( 5th–6th centuries A.D. ) and resettled during the Crusader time period ( 11th–12th centuries A.D. ) .
A papers in the archives of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem refers to a agriculture settlement known as Thora that was sold to the Mar Saba monastery in 1163–1164 . The location of that farm was fall back to history , but the Mar Saba seal could link the lately excavated farm to Thora , explain Storchan and Dolinka in a statement .
The excavation site in southwestern Jerusalem where archaeologist found the seal.
One side of the seal was impressed with Greek text that read: “This is the seal of the Laura of the Holy Sabas."
