Absolutely. I’d keep the archaeological mystery, but make the spiritual reflection much tighter. Something like this:

What Remains in the Stone

In August 2018, while walking through the ancient ruins of Ephesus, I noticed these circles carved into the marble beneath my feet.

At the time, I photographed (photos below) them without knowing what they meant. Later on that day, our tour guide told us their story. Years later, I came across an article, Sacred Circles in Christianity and Buddhism, exploring the possibility that some such circles may have had Christian significance, while acknowledging that their original purpose cannot always be known with certainty.

That uncertainty is part of what fascinates me.

Look closely at the photographs. The markings are almost disappearing. Yet, in the right light, they suddenly emerge from the stone.

Perhaps there is something here for us beyond archaeology.

The people who made these marks are long gone. We don’t know what they were thinking when they carved them. But they left something behind, something ordinary, almost hidden, that survived them.

It makes me wonder what traces we leave behind.

Not monuments or great achievements, necessarily. Perhaps it is simply the way we treat people, the kindness we show, the faith we live, or the meaning we bring to ordinary moments.

We may never know what will endure.

And perhaps that is why we should pay more attention to what is beneath our feet. We often take for granted what is already there: our family, our relationships, the people who love us, the everyday moments that quietly give our lives meaning. Like these markings in the stone, we may only truly notice their value when we stop, look closely, and realize how easily the things we treasure can fade from view.

Sometimes what we are looking for is already there, quietly waiting to be seen!