Issued by Israel in 1979, this 60 Agorot stamp forms part of the Archaeology in Jerusalem series, celebrating the city’s layered historical heritage. The design features a Byzantine capital dating from the 6th century C.E., symbolizing Jerusalem’s rich Byzantine architectural legacy. The upper illustration depicts the ornate stone capital set against stylized arches, while the tab below shows the excavated fragments as found in situ. The inscriptions appear in Hebrew, Arabic, and English, underscoring Israel’s multilingual postal tradition.

Historical Context:
Byzantine capitals, such as the one depicted here, were typical of 6th-century ecclesiastical and civic structures in Jerusalem, often adorning churches and public buildings of the Christian era before the early Islamic period. The archaeological focus of this issue highlights Israel’s national effort to preserve and study artifacts unearthed in Jerusalem’s excavations of the 1960s–70s.