An ancient stone seal has been discovered in Jerusalem that may be linked to a warrior mentioned in the Bible.

The black dime-sized relic was likely worn as an amulet around the neck of a man who held a senior position in the holy city some 2,700 years ago.

Stone seals were used as a sort of ancient I.D. card. This one bears an engraving of a winged ‘genie’ or ‘demon’ that has never been seen before in Israel.

Two names are also inscribed on the seal – ‘Yehoʼezer’ and ‘Hoshʼayahu’ – which are both mentioned in the bible. ‘Yoʼezer,’ the abbreviated form of Yehoʼezer, was the name of one of the warriors of King David, the king of Israel at the time.

And the name Hoshʼayahu is a parallel form of the name ʼAzariah ben Hoshʼaya,’ which is mentioned in the book of Jeremiah.

‘It is not impossible that perhaps it was Yehoʼezer himself who engraved the names on the object,’ said research partner Ronny Reich from the University of Haifa in a press release.

This finding also provides new evidence to support a multi-national culture thriving in ancient Jerusalem, as it is described in the bible.

During the first temple period, when this seal was made, Jerusalem was subject to the ᴀssyrian Empire.

The artistic and cultural influence of this ruling power is reflected in the seal, as it bears an engraving of a winged protective figure.

Figures of winged demons are known in the Neo-ᴀssyrian art of the 9th-7th Centuries BCE, according to the press release.

The fact that the seal’s original owner chose a demon as his personal insignia ‘may attest to his feeling that he belonged to the broader cultural context,’ said excavation director Yuval Baruch.

But the two names inscribed on either side of this figure are written in Hebrew script, suggesting that whoever carved them held тιԍнтly onto his local idenтιтy, said Baruch.

‘This is an extremely rare and unusual discovery,’ said IAA Archeologist and ᴀssyriologist Filip Vukosavovic, who studied the seal.

This seal ‘opens another window for us into the days of the Kingdom of Judah during the First Temple period, and attests to that administration’s international connections,’ said Israeli Minister of Heritage Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu.

‘In doing so, it demonstrates the importance and centrality of Jerusalem already 2,700 years ago.’

What’s more, it offers a clearer picture of the reading and writing abilities of Jerusalemites during this period.

‘Contrary to what may be commonly thought, it seems that literacy in this period was not the realm only of society’s elite.

‘People knew how to read and write – at least at the basic level, for the needs of commerce,’ Baruch said.

The researchers found the seal near the Southern Wall of Temple Mount in the City of David National Park.

They believe that the seal was worn as an amulet by a man named Hoshʼayahu, who held a senior position in the Kingdom of Judah’s administration.

They based their conclusion on the presence of a hole drilled through the piece, likely to allow it to be worn on a string, and the high artistic level required to produce the piece.

‘The seal, made of black stone, is one of the most beautiful ever discovered in excavations in ancient Jerusalem,’ the researchers said.

The figure depicted on the seal is striding towards the right and raising one arm forward with an open palm, ‘perhaps to suggest some object it is holding,’ the press release stated.