An 11-year-old boy went on a desert walk with his parents and discovered a protected statue about 2,500 years ago, which dates from the biblical era.
Zvi Ben-David and his family walk near Nahal HaBesor, a river running through the Negev desert in the south Israel, when he spotted an object that appeared to be a ceramic statue of a woman, representatives of the Israel Antiquities Authorities (IAA) written on Facebook on March 9th.
The small figure has a prominent nose, a scarf covering her head and folded crossed arms under her bare breasts. The statue, which was about 7 inches long and (6 inches) wide, was probably cast from a mold, according to the Facebook post. During the fifth and sixth centuries BC, such figurines were commonly used as lucky amulets to protect children or promote fertility, the IAA says.
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After Ben-David found the artifact, his mother Miriam Ben-David, a professional tour guide, contacted IAA archaeologist Oren Shmueli and arranged to deliver the statuette to the IAA’s Department of National Treasures for research. and conservation.
Shmueli and Debora Ben-Ami, curators of the Iron Age and the Persian periods for the IAA, will further examine the statue to better understand how representations of human figures in biblical times were incorporated into superstitious rituals, Shmueli said.
Throughout Israel’s past, there were statues of bald women in people’s homes, “like the hamsa symbol of today” – a Middle Eastern amulet shaped like a hand with an open eye in the palm, displayed or behaved to ward off bad luck and protect against the evil eye, according to the Facebook post. Thousands of years ago, images of women with bare breasts had similar meanings, promising “protection, strength and prosperity,” Shmueli said.
Other types of amulets in the ancient world had more unusual uses, such as to attack evil blood-drinking spirits. But during antiquity, when medical knowledge and understanding of hygiene limited, it is no wonder that people regularly turned to amulets as an extra protective boost for continued good health and to overcome the dangers and challenges of everyday life.
“In the absence of advanced medicine, amulets have given hope and an important way to ask for help,” Shmueli said.
Originally published on Live Science.