Palm and stone unearthed: unlikely connections with a "Qur'anic" fragment

The article collects results of archaeological investigations on a church initially built to celebrate the birth of Jesus seen as able to problematize the traditional view regarding the origins of Islam and the formation of the Qur'an. It seeks to move beyond what has already been suggested in this regard, pointing out possibilities, arising from the connection between results of archaeological research and studies on texts constituting the Muslim holy book, to rethink the complex socio-religious scenario in Southwest Asia in Late Antiquity.