Archeologists unearthed a marble shrine containing a relic potentially linked to Moses receiving the Ten Commandments during an excavation at a church site in southern Austria, according to a press release from Innsbruck University.

The relic, a 1,500-year-old ivory box adorned with Christian motifs, was discovered under an altar inside a chapel at the summit of Burgbichl, a small hill in the municipality of Irschen.

The significant find was made by a team from Innsbruck University who have been conducting excavations in the Carinthian Drava Valley since 2016.

The lead archeologist, Gerald Grabherr, highlighted the rarity of such a discovery. “We know of around 40 ivory boxes of this kind worldwide, and the last recorded excavation of one was approximately 100 years ago,” Mr. Grabherr said in the release.”

He added that “most existing pyxes are either preserved in cathedral treasures or exhibited in museums.”

One of the motifs on the ivory box depicts a man turning his head, with a hand extending from the sky above him, placing an object between his arms. This imagery is followed by representations of biblical figures.

“This is the typical depiction of the handing over of the laws to Moses on Mount Sinai, marking the beginning of the covenant between God and humanity from the Old Testament,” Mr. Grabherr said.

Another motif shows a man in a chariot drawn by two horses, with the same hand emerging from the clouds, lifting the figure towards heaven. Mr. Grabherr interpreted this as a unique depiction of the Ascension of Christ, symbolizing the fulfillment of the covenant with God.

“The combination of Old Testament scenes with New Testament events is characteristic of late antiquity. However, the depiction of the Ascension with a two-horse chariot, known as a biga, is unprecedented,” he noted.