Ivory reliquary boxes, known as pyxes, are rare artifacts from early Christian history, typically used to hold sacred items such as relics of saints or consecrated Eucharistic bread.

The clergy or congregation would often take the pyxes when a church was abandoned, so the archaeologists were surprised that this particular pyx remained within the ruins.

According to Gerald Grabherr, who leads the team, only about 40 such ivory pyxes have been found worldwide. “The few pyxes that exist are either preserved in cathedral treasures or exhibited in ...