HELEN EVANS: These are silver chalices, beautifully decorated, each of which is inscribed… by donors in the town of Attarouthi, which we know existed as an affluent merchant town. They are inscribed in Greek. And they talk about donations for salvation.

What makes these exceptionally different are the figures depicted on them, and in particular, the image of a military saint killing a dragon. And it suggests that these are made in a time when military protection is important. So they may date to just about the moment of the transfer of power from the Byzantine world to the rising Muslim states in the area.

On the chalices, you also see the court of heaven. You see the Virgin flanked by archangels. You see Christ. You see major early saints of the Christian church. Here are inscriptions on two of the chalices, in Greek and in English.

STEPHANIE GEORGIADIS [Greek, then English]: “For her salvation, Eudokia has offered this to the Church of St. Stephen of the village of Attarouthi, in fulfillment of a vow and for the salvation of those whose names are known unto the Lord.”