Homepage
Welcome to the AMF’s new website!
Our new website is currently still under construction. For the time being, the most important information is available here.We are constantly working to expand the range of content on offer and to gradually enhance the website with further content, information and features. It’s worth visiting regularly – there’s always something new to discover.
One of the highlights of the permanent exhibition is the so-called Frankfurt Silver Inscription.
Watch our video to find out more about this extraordinary discovery.
Preserve – showcase – research
The Frankfurt Archaeological Museum showcases, preserves, educates about and researches the archaeology and history of the city of Frankfurt and its surrounding area – from the Neolithic period to the early modern era.
In the exhibition rooms of the medieval church of the former Carmelite monastery, you will be taken on a journey from the dawn of human civilisation through to the monasteries of the High and Late Middle Ages and the pilgrimage along the Way of St James. Archaeological finds from Bronze and Iron Age burial mounds in the Stadtwald and from the Roman town of NIDA – including finds from four Mithras shrines, which are of not only regional but also international significance. In addition, the Kaiserpfalz branch franconofurd offers a glimpse into 2,000 years of the town’s history.Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Frankfurt Silver Inscription
A small silver amulet, measuring just 3.5 cm, containing a thin sheet of silver rolled up inside with a mysterious inscription: the ‘Frankfurt Silver Inscription’. Experts agree that these 18 lines will greatly enrich existing research into the spread of Christianity and the late period of Roman rule on the right bank of the Rhine. The inscription was deciphered using state-of-the-art computer tomography technology. It reveals that the text can be interpreted entirely in Christian terms, which is absolutely extraordinary for this period.
What makes this find so special is its age. The grave in which the amulet was found is dated to the period between 230 and 260 AD. Until now, there has been no such early, authentic evidence of pure Christianity north of the Alps. All other finds are at least around 50 years younger. Whilst historical records do provide evidence of the first Christian groups in Gaul and perhaps also in the province of Upper Germania in the late 2nd century, reliable evidence of Christian life in the northern Alpine regions of the Roman Empire generally dates only from the 4th century AD.
