Cross from early times found in Elbasan

A cross, found at a renowned Elbasani family, was revealed by the prominent private numismatic collector, Vangjel Kapedani, has attracted the interest of scholars of the field, who think that it might be from Christ’s era.
The cross is thought to have immense historical values for Christianity and it is one of the most valuable objects further enriching the early history of humanity and Christian religion.
The cross was found in central Albanian town of Elbasani, at a Christian family, who inherited it through the generations. The cross is 14 cm long by 10 cm wide, it weighs 173.4 grams and is crafted from bronze, lead and silver.
At the center of the cross is engraved a monogram of Christ, an indecipherable cryptology of Christ’s name from the beginnings of Christianity. On the cross there also are engravings of other Christian drawings, including some zodiacal signs.
There are hints that the Cross is as old as Christianity itself, starting from the fact the Saint Paul visited the Illyrian lands, since they were part of the early Biblical lands.
According to Kapedani, the finding of the cross is of great importance for our country.
What makes the finding even more important is the chance it might have been crafted especially for, or even brought by Saint Paul, who stayed for long stints in Apolonia, where he is said to have baptized Julius Caesar.
The Elbasani numismatic collector, Vangjel Kapedani has a wide collection of valuable objects of history, arts and culture. He is one of the few numismatic collectors, while his relics have been the focus of study of some Albanian and foreign scholars for several years now.
He called his passion as a collector as “in search of the lost world”, a passion that has been driving him for more than 40 years now. His collection is made of thousands of objects, but the latest addition is expected to be scrutinized by the scholars of the field, and it might shed some light onto one of the earliest periods of humanity.