A team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority announced in March 2025 that a body found buried in Jerusalem wrapped in chains had been a female, from the fifth century AD. It is the first archaeological evidence of extreme asceticism practiced by a female that has been discovered in Jerusalem, since prior to this discovery it was only observed in male monastics.
The research, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, was led by Dr. Paula Kotli, David Morgenstern, and Prof. Elisabetta Boaretto from the Weizmann Institute of Science, in collaboration with Dr. Yossi Nagar, Zubair ʼAdawi, and Kfir Arbiv from the Israel Antiquities Authority. Due to the skeleton’s poor state of preservation, the Weizmann Institute team employed advanced proteomic and peptidomic analysis, which identified the biological sex of the skeleton through proteins found in the enamel of the teeth. By analyzing the variations of Amelogenin proteins, which are encoded by the X/Y sex chromosomes, the researchers confirmed that the individual was a woman.
According to the Israel Antiquities Authority’s researchers, Zubair ʼAdawi, Kfir Arbiv, and Dr. Yossi Nagar, the nun was found in a solitary grave beneath the church altar, indicating her honored status. Her body was bound with 12-14 rings around her arms or hands, four rings around her neck, and at least ten rings around her legs. Iron plates or discs were also found on her stomach, affixed to the rings, creating an armored appearance for the skeleton.
The researchers determined that the skeleton belonged to a woman likely between the ages of 30 and 60 at the time of her death.
"As an archaeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority, I participate in many excavations, but I had never seen anything like it," Adawi said.
"To find something similar, we have to go back to the 1990s, when the skeleton of a chained male monk was uncovered at the site of Khirbet Tabaliya, on the way between Jerusalem and Bethlehem."
The nun’s remains were discovered in a site located about three kilometers (1.86 mi) northwest of Jerusalem’s Old City, identified as a Byzantine monastery active from the 5th to 7th centuries AD. The excavation uncovered not only the monastery and church buildings but also burial crypts beneath the church altar, where the remains of men, women, and children were found. Iron rings were found around the neck, arms, and legs of the bound skeleton, along with metal objects, including a small cross.
Interestingly, the heavy iron rings were not a form of torture or punishment but were voluntarily self-imposed as part of ascetic practices.
This discovery also highlights the involvement of women in ascetic practices. In his 5th-century work Historia Religiosa, Theodoret of Cyrrhus mentions two women, Marana and Cyra, who bound themselves with chains for 42 years.
As of now, this is a totally unique find, with no other evidence of nuns in Byzantine-era Jerusalem taking up the challenge of asceticism. This may change in the future, however, as archaeologists know that such a possibility exists and will be on the lookout for more examples of women following the same religious path in ancient times.
The research, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, was led by Dr. Paula Kotli, David Morgenstern, and Prof. Elisabetta Boaretto from the Weizmann Institute of Science, in collaboration with Dr. Yossi Nagar, Zubair ʼAdawi, and Kfir Arbiv from the Israel Antiquities Authority. Due to the skeleton’s poor state of preservation, the Weizmann Institute team employed advanced proteomic and peptidomic analysis, which identified the biological sex of the skeleton through proteins found in the enamel of the teeth. By analyzing the variations of Amelogenin proteins, which are encoded by the X/Y sex chromosomes, the researchers confirmed that the individual was a woman.
According to the Israel Antiquities Authority’s researchers, Zubair ʼAdawi, Kfir Arbiv, and Dr. Yossi Nagar, the nun was found in a solitary grave beneath the church altar, indicating her honored status. Her body was bound with 12-14 rings around her arms or hands, four rings around her neck, and at least ten rings around her legs. Iron plates or discs were also found on her stomach, affixed to the rings, creating an armored appearance for the skeleton.
The researchers determined that the skeleton belonged to a woman likely between the ages of 30 and 60 at the time of her death.
"As an archaeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority, I participate in many excavations, but I had never seen anything like it," Adawi said.
"To find something similar, we have to go back to the 1990s, when the skeleton of a chained male monk was uncovered at the site of Khirbet Tabaliya, on the way between Jerusalem and Bethlehem."
The nun’s remains were discovered in a site located about three kilometers (1.86 mi) northwest of Jerusalem’s Old City, identified as a Byzantine monastery active from the 5th to 7th centuries AD. The excavation uncovered not only the monastery and church buildings but also burial crypts beneath the church altar, where the remains of men, women, and children were found. Iron rings were found around the neck, arms, and legs of the bound skeleton, along with metal objects, including a small cross.
Interestingly, the heavy iron rings were not a form of torture or punishment but were voluntarily self-imposed as part of ascetic practices.
This discovery also highlights the involvement of women in ascetic practices. In his 5th-century work Historia Religiosa, Theodoret of Cyrrhus mentions two women, Marana and Cyra, who bound themselves with chains for 42 years.
As of now, this is a totally unique find, with no other evidence of nuns in Byzantine-era Jerusalem taking up the challenge of asceticism. This may change in the future, however, as archaeologists know that such a possibility exists and will be on the lookout for more examples of women following the same religious path in ancient times.
