Astonishing Discovery: Ancient ram statue symbolizing Christ and His flock

'In ancient Christianity Jesus was not portrayed as a person. Instead, symbols were used, one of which was the ram.'

A marble ram was discovered in the ancient city of Caesarea, along Israel's Mediterranean coast. It is believed to have been created as a depiction of either Jesus or the Good Shepherd's flock.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Israeli archaeologists from both the Caesarea Development Corporation and the Israel Antiquities Authority announced their discovery of the ram on Sunday.

Excavation directors Dr. Peter Gendelman and Mohammad Hater released a joint statement to announce the marble ram's discovery, where they also mentioned, "In ancient Christianity Jesus was not portrayed as a person. Instead, symbols were used, one of which was the ram."

The Israel Antiquities Authority delved into the Bible for a more accurate understanding of the ram's presence, noting: 

"In Christian art the ram is often depicted carried on the shoulders of the 'Good Shepherd' (that is, Jesus, who is portrayed as the shepherd tending his flock), and sometimes the ram is situated to the left or right of Jesus. In Christianity the ram, like the lamb, represents the faithful, or Jesus himself, whose anguish and death were meant according to Christian belief to atone for original sin."

To further describe the ram's presence, John 1:29 was cited, which reads: "The next day, he saw Jesus coming towards him and said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.'"

Gendelman and Hater said, "It may or may not be a coincidence, but the statue was uncovered on Christmas Eve.

"The statue that we found might have been part of the decoration of a Byzantine church from the sixth-seventh centuries CE at Caesarea. by the same token it could also be earlier, from the Roman period, and was incorporated in secondary use in the church structure."

In Greek and Roman art, the ram was sometimes present beside the Greek god Hermes and the Roman god Mercury. The Blaze noted rams are also used to represent Egyptian god Amun.

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