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An 11-year-old boy went for a hike in the desert with his parents and discovered a child protection figurine dating back to the biblical era, around 2,500 years ago.
Zvi Ben-David and his family were hiking near Nahal HaBesor, a river that runs through the Negev desert in the south Israel, when he spotted an object that turned out to be a ceramic statuette of a woman, representatives of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) written on facebook March 9.
The petite figure had a prominent nose, a scarf covering her head, and crossed arms tucked under her bare breasts. The statuette, which was about three inches high and two inches wide, was likely cast in a mold, according to the Facebook post. During the fifth and sixth centuries BC, such figurines were commonly used as good luck amulets, to protect children or promote fertility, according to the IAA.
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After Ben-David found the artifact, his mother Miriam Ben-David, a professional guide, contacted IAA archaeologist Oren Shmueli and arranged to deliver the figurine to the National Treasures Department of the IAA, for research and preservation.
Shmueli and Debora Ben-Ami, Curator of Iron Age and Persian Periods for the IAA, will study the figurine in more detail to better understand how representations of human figures were incorporated into superstitious rituals in Biblical times. , Shmueli said.
Throughout Israel’s past, figurines of topless women have been commonly found in people’s homes, “like the hamsa symbol today” – a Middle Eastern amulet in the shape of a hand with one eye open. in the palm, exposed or worn to ward off bad luck and protect against the evil eye, according to the Facebook post. Thousands of years ago, images of women with bared breasts had a similar meaning, promising “protection, luck and prosperity,” Shmueli said.
Other types of amulets in the ancient world had rarer uses, such as bothersome attacks of evil spirits drinkers of blood. But during antiquity, when medical knowledge and understanding of hygiene was limited, it is no wonder that people frequently turned to amulets as an additional protective boost for continued good health and to help overcome the dangers and challenges of everyday life.
“In the absence of advanced medicine, the amulets have given hope and an important means of calling for help,” said Shmueli.
Originally posted on Live Science.
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