Image Source: Israel Antiquities Authority via CBS News.
Anyone can discover a piece of history—look at the story of Ziv Nitzan, a 3-year-old girl who recently found a scarab amulet believed to be 3,800 years old during a family outing to an archaeological site in Israel.
“We were walking along the path, and then Ziv bent down—and out of all the stones around her, she picked up this particular stone,” Omer Nitzan, Ziv’s older sister, told the Israel Antiquities Authority. “When she rubbed it and removed the sand from it, we saw something was different about it.”
Following the discovery, CBS News reported that the item was brought to the Israel Antiquities Authority for further examination. From here, authority officials identified the item as a scarab amulet from Canaanite communities that inhabited the area thousands of years ago.
Daphna Ben-Tor, a curator for Egyptian archaeology at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, said the amulet may date back to the Middle Bronze Age, which spanned from 2100 to 1600 B.C.E.
“Scarabs were used in this period as seals and as amulets,” Ben-Tor said. “They were found in graves, in public buildings and in private homes. Sometimes they bear symbols and messages that reflect religious beliefs or status.”
The amulet likely was created to resemble a dung beetle, which many people viewed as sacred during this Middle Bronze Age.
Other historic artifacts have been discovered in the area where the amulet was found. These include agricultural structures from the Iron Age, which took place from 1200 to 586 B.C.E.
The Israel Antiquities Authority will put the amulet on display this month to commemorate Passover.
The WorthPoint Price Guide contains over 800 ancient scarab amulets.
Dan Kobialka is a self-employed content writer and editor with about a decade of experience. He produces content across a wide range of industries, including antiques, insurance, and real estate. To learn more about Dan, please visit his website.
WorthPoint—Discover. Value. Preserve.
Credit: Source link
