How a forgotten Christian practice is rewriting the history of the early church

For 1,500 years, a tiny sheet of gold lay folded inside a copper case in what is now central Turkey.

Archaeologists found it this summer at Türkmen Karahöyük, an ancient settlement in Konya province. The gold is just 0.1 millimeters thick, and researchers believe it probably carries a passage from the Bible.

The inscription begins by invoking St. Titus, followed by the Greek acclamation rendered in Latin letters: ‘Holy, holy, holy!’

Which passage? They don’t know yet.

Christianized charm

The fourth- or fifth-century Christian amulet likely belonged to a young child and was worn or carried for protection, according to excavation co-director Michele Rüzgar Massa. He compared its purpose to a nazar boncuğu, the traditional charm against the evil eye.

“Inside a copper box, we found an extremely thin gold sheet,