Archaeologists in Jerusalem have discovered a 1,700-year-old oil lamp decorated with rare Jewish artwork, including a unique menorah — a surprise given that the Roman Empire had tried to suppress the religion after a revolt in the region, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).
The lamp has imagery of a menorah with an incense shovel and special palm frond, called a "lulav," that were used in Jewish rituals. The menorah has seven branches, symbolizing those used only in the Second Temple, a holy place for Jews in Jerusalem that the Romans had destroyed in A.D. 70. By the time this oil lamp was crafted in the third century A.D., the temple had been destroyed for more than 100 years.
