An 11-year-old boy went for a walk in the desert with his parents and discovered a child protection statuette dating from the biblical era, some 2,500 years ago.
Zvi Ben-David and his family were taking a hike 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 figurine of a woman, representatives of the Israel Antiquities Authorities (IAA) wrote on facebook on March 9th.
The small figure had a prominent nose, a handkerchief covering its head and arms crossed under its bare breasts. The figurine, which measured about 3 inches (7 centimeters) high and (6 cm) wide, was probably cast from a mold, according to the Facebook post. During the 5th and 6th centuries BC, these statuettes were commonly used as good luck charms to protect children or promote fertility, says the IAA.
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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 for the statuette to be handed over to the IAA’s Department of National Treasures for research and preservation.
Shmueli and Debora Ben-Ami, curator of the Iron Age and Persian periods for the IAA, will investigate the statuette to better understand how representations of human figures were incorporated into superstitious rituals during biblical times, said Shmueli.
Throughout Israel’s past, statues of women with bare breasts were commonly found in people’s homes, “like the symbol of the hamsa today” – a hand-shaped Middle Eastern amulet with an open eye on the palm, displayed or used for 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 a similar meaning, promising “protection, good luck and prosperity,” said Shmueli.
Other types of amulets in the ancient world had more unusual uses, such as preventing attacks from evil spirits who drink blood. But during antiquity, when medical knowledge and understanding of hygiene it was limited, it is no wonder that people often resorted to amulets as an extra protective reinforcement for continued good health and to help overcome the dangers and challenges of daily life.
“In the absence of advanced medicine, amulets provide hope and an important way to ask for help,” said Shmueli.
Originally published on Live Science.