6-year-old israeli finds a Bronze Age artifact that reveals new facts about the past

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Unique ancient artifacts are not always found during archaeological expeditions. Sometimes people stumble upon them by accident. The find recently discovered in Israel is not the first artifact in the world found during an ordinary walk. True, one can hardly remember that such a discovery was made by a six-year-old baby. So if you are going for a walk with your child and you see that he is collecting pebbles - take a closer look: maybe these are not pebbles at all?

Six-year-old Imri Eliya walked with his family in Tel Gam along the Gaza border, and, like most children of his age, looked for unusual stones and other interesting things. Suddenly he saw a square, flat object under his feet and lifted it up.

Looking closer, he saw that this 1, 1-inch "stone" is not a stone at all. It turned out to be a strange pattern: one little man is chasing another. Imri showed the item to his parents. And those were taken to experts at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Experts immediately confirmed that the find made by the baby is certainly not an ordinary stone.

The artifact turned out to be a Bronze Age Canaanite clay tablet. The find turned out to be so valuable that the six-year-old Israeli was awarded a special certificate as showing great civic responsibility, because he did not hide the found tablet, but handed it over to the state.

The prison scene, carved on clay seal by a craftsman, whose fingerprints are still visible on the back of the square tablet, measures 2.80 x 2.80 centimeters (1.1 inches square).

“It was probably a victory souvenir - something like a Badge of Honor or a medal,” said IAA archaeologist Saar Ganor in an interview with the Times of Israel. - Since the plate was created in shape, most likely, many similar products were made. They could be used as a commemorative decoration and, perhaps, they were pressed into other objects - for example, into belts or furniture - to demonstrate the victories of the owners.

It is possible that whoever owned the tablet had several of these impressions and used them as a kind of visual bragging.

Ganor believes that two Canaanites are depicted by an unknown master. Naked, thin as a railing, the prisoner's hands were tied so tightly behind his back that his back was straightened like a ramrod. He is held captive by a clothed, somewhat plump warden with cropped curly hair and a beard. They are both Canaanites, but from different tribes, which, according to the archaeologist, "fought with each other for what we are fighting for today - water and land."

These plaques were a common form of decoration back then for many men in the army and those who served as jailers and guards.

- The way in which the prisoner is tied has been seen earlier in the reliefs and artifacts found in Egypt and North Sinai, the researchers explain.

Ganor explained that artifacts from the Bronze Age are most often found in these places during excavations.

Comparing and contrasting their find with other similar artifacts, IAA researchers date the tablet to the Late Bronze Age (between the 12th and 15th centuries BC).

The scene depicted on a clay print contains elements of several artifacts from the Late Bronze Age, including an ivory inscription found at Tel Megiddo, as well as images of prisoners from the Battle of Kadesh found on relief in the Temple of Abu Simbel in Egypt under Ramses II …

In those days, fierce battles took place in the Tel Gama region, between Egypt and the kings of the cities (states) that he took under his rule, as well as between the local kings themselves. In addition, nomads called habiru also raided the area. The area was a tidbit: the Besor bank is one of the main water sources in the Negev, and nearby is the ancient road that was used to reach the port of Gaza, located about 10 kilometers away.

Despite its diminutive size, IAA researchers believe that the scene depicted on the tablet depicts the rule of a ruler over his enemy and is based on descriptions of Victory parades in the region.

“This opens up a visual window for understanding the struggle for dominance in the south of the country during the Canaanite period,” the researchers said.

The baby Imri himself explains that he is not going to stop there and will continue to search for interesting things while walking along the border.

Continuing the theme of ancient Israelite artifacts: another new find of archaeologists in Jerusalem.