Shema amulet unearthed in Austria

University of Vienna archeologists unearthed an amulet in a third century grave bearing the Shema prayer.

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University of Vienna archeologists unearthed an amulet in a third century grave bearing the Shema prayer.

The find in eastern Austria represents the earliest sign of Jewish inhabitants in present-day Austria, the university said in a news release.

The silver amulet contains a gold scroll on which the words of the Shema are inscribed in Greek.

The grave of the child is one of about 300 graves in an ancient Roman cemetery discovered in 1986 near the town of Halbturn. The Jewish amulet was identified in 2006 and will go on public display next month in the Burgenland State Museum in Eisenstadt.

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