Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:

• Archaeologists excavating in the ancient city of Antiochia Hippos discovered what was left of an early cathedral destroyed by an earthquake.
• Among the artifacts was a peculiar slab of marble with three identical wells, whose purpose was not immediately obvious.
• It’s now thought that the artifact was used to hold ritual oils for anointing during baptisms.

Christianity was still emerging in the Byzantine city of Hippos (just east of the Sea of Galilee on the Golan plateau), when an earthquake shook an ancient church to its foundations in 749 C.E. The ruins remained buried in dust and rubble for nearly a millennium and a half until recent excavations brought them to the surface.

Among the artifacts—discovered by a research team from the University of Haifa, which was led by archaeologist Michael Eisenberg—were a bronze candelabrum, a veined marble reliquary that may have held the bones of saints Cosmas and Damianus, two baptismal fonts, and an unusual object (also made of marble) with triple wells that experts believe was meant to hold holy oils used in the ritual of baptism. Also unearthed were mosaic and opus sectile floors inlaid with marble. The structural remains of the cathedral complex included a photisterion, which is a a “hall of light” used for baptismal rites. Evidence of a second photisterion suggests that later renovations could have been made to accommodate more parishioners as the religion spread through the Levant.

While Christianity was still a nascent religion, rituals—some of which were regional variations that are now lost to time—continued to evolve. The mysterious marble artifact may be a remnant of that evolution. While its most likely use was for chrismation (the anointing of a newly baptized Christian with scented oil, or chrism), it’s unclear precisely what types of oil were used. It’s already known that at least three types of anointing were practiced during this era. The head (if not the rest of the body) was anointed before baptism to give strength and exorcise demons. Whether the second anointing occurred before or after immersion, and what its purpose was, is not known. The third anointing blessed the baptized with oil.

“Our search for parallels found no similar stones, either inside or outside of the ecclesiastical sphere,” Eisenberg said in a study recently published in Palestine Exploration Quarterly. “Our proposed explanation for this stone's function is based on its findspot, right next to a baptismal font. We suggest that the cups of the stone held oil, possibly three different types of oils, which may correlate with a local tradition of three-phase anointing during the baptismal rite.”

While the artifact resembles a public measuring table, ormensa ponderaria—a type used by dealers in ancient Rome to gauge the standard measures of goods such as oil and grain—certain features indicate it was used for other purposes. Mensa ponderaria usually had wells of different sizes, while those in the block unearthed by the Haifa team are identical. They’re also surrounded by ornamental carvings that include stylized lotus leaves.

As for what oils the wells may have contained, despite the lack of precise evidence, experts believe the mix may have been similar to modern chrism, which is a combination of olive and balsam oil. Frankincense and myrrh oils, which recall the precious resins said to have been brought to a newborn Jesus Christ by the Magi, are also possibilities.

The double photisterion chambers may have been used for separate baptisms of children and adults. One baptismal font is larger and outfitted with a drain through which “living water” would have been supplied by a lead pipe. The other is smaller, and the inside of the basin was plastered and painted red. Having two basins may have also allowed for more than one baptism to take place at a time, which would have been especially convenient in a growing congregation. Also found at the site were marble screens carved with Maltese crosses, which may have been used to separate the sacred baptismal space from the rest of the cathedral floor. It’s also thought that the reliquary was kept in the inner sanctum.

“The vast excavations and accumulating data on [this site’s] church architecture and liturgical implements illuminate the various local strata of urban Christian communities within this small provincial polis,” Eisenberg said. “More excavations and discussions on the surprising finds [will] be carried out in the near future.”