Gems like these are known as intaglio and they served as personal signature stamps on letters and documents.
What is, however, puzzling about the discovery is only two such seals have so far been found in Israel – one in Jerusalem and one in Masada.
And the face etched into the seal is of the Greek deity Apollo but there is a good chance the person who wore the ring was Jewish.
Eli Shukron, an archaeologist who led the excavation responsible for the discovery, said: “It is rare to find seal remains bearing the image of the god Apollo at sites identified with the Jewish population.
“To this day, two such gems (seals) have been found in Masada, another in Jerusalem inside an ossuary in a Jewish tomb on Mount Scopus, and the current gem that we discovered in close proximity to the Temple Mount.