Ancient amulet bearing name of the Divine
A necklace pendant used as a protective amulet and dating from the Byzantine period was handed over to the Israel Antiquities Authority this month. The amulet, a protection against the evil eye and harmful demons, bears Greek inscriptions and engravings and was found near the Arbel ancient synagogue in Galilee some forty years ago. Tova Haviv, the moshav Arbel member who discovered the object passed away recently and his family donated it to the National Treasures Center. The moshav is located on Mount Arbel next to the Kinneret near Tveria.
The amulet is made of bronze. The obverse bears the figure of a rider on a galloping horse. The riderâs head is encircled with a halo and he thrusts a spear down toward a female figure lying on her back. Engraved in a semicircle above the rider is a Greek inscription that reads: “The One God who Conquers Evil.”
Photo Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority.
A rare bronze oil lamp, shaped like a grotesque face cut in half, was recently discovered during excavations in Jerusalemâs City of David National Park. May 5, 2021.
The Roman-era oil lamp recently unearthed in Jerusalem may be the missing half of a similar artifact found in Budapest nine years ago, the City of David Foundation announced on Sunday.
Mere hours after publication of the discovery of the âluckyâ lamp shaped like a grotesque half face, Hungarian archaeologist Gabor Lassanyi contacted Ari Levy, director of Israel Antiquities Authority excavations at Jerusalemâs City of David National Park.
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May. 6, 2021 9:05 AM
An unusual bronze oil lamp shaped like a grotesque, cut-in-half face has been discovered in an unusual place: under the foundations of a massive building in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday.
The lamp was made of bronze, not pottery as was more common, and had been manufactured using a sculpted mold. It is grotesque, featuring a goaty male half-face complete with (half a) satyr’s beard and a horned forehead. The lamp’s tip is shaped like a crescent moon. And the whole enchilada was placed inside a wall of the building, which had been erected smack on what had been the pilgrimage road to Jerusalem.