3-Year-Old Discovers 3,800-Year-Old Amulet While On Family Outing
A 3-year-old girl found a scarab-shaped Canaanite amulet dating back some 3,800 years while on a hike with family in Israel. What do you think?
'Oh, every parent thinks their kid's 3,800-year-old amulet is special.' Angela Vogel, Bank Picketer
'Good luck getting it out of her mouth.' Rudy Soucek, Chord Builder
'Yeah, but can she read? Didn't think so.' Joe Beaty, Kite Designer
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The Onion
08-04-2025
- The Onion
3-Year-Old Discovers 3,800-Year-Old Amulet While On Family Outing
A 3-year-old girl found a scarab-shaped Canaanite amulet dating back some 3,800 years while on a hike with family in Israel. What do you think? 'Oh, every parent thinks their kid's 3,800-year-old amulet is special.' Angela Vogel, Bank Picketer 'Good luck getting it out of her mouth.' Rudy Soucek, Chord Builder 'Yeah, but can she read? Didn't think so.' Joe Beaty, Kite Designer
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Yahoo
A 3-Year-Old Discovered an Amazing 3,800-Year-Old Amulet
A 3-year-old girl on a family walk picked up an interesting-looking pebble that turned out to be a 3,800-year-old amulet. The Canaanite scarab amulet, which dates to the Middle Bronze Age, was camouflaged among a the gravel on a path nearby an archaeology site in Israel. The find was reported and will now go on display in a special exhibition. Children are always picking stuff up off the ground—dirt, bugs, rocks, anything shiny. And usually, it's just junk. However, 3-year-old Ziv Nitzan made the discovery of her young life when, on a walk with her family, she picked up a small stone that wound up being a scarab amulet more than one thousand times her age. '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 sister, said in a translated statement from the Israel Antiquities Authority. 'When she rubbed it and removed the sand from it, we saw something was different about it. I called my parents to come see the beautiful stone, and we realized we had discovered an archaeological find.' The family brought in the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Daphna Ben-Tor, an expert in ancient amulets and seals, analyzed the amulet before declaring it a 3,800-year-old Canaanite scarab from the Middle Bronze Age. '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.' Popular in ancient Egypt, amulets in the shape of a dung beetle often come with ornate designs. The dung beetle was revered in ancient Egypt, considered sacred and a symbol of new life. Nitzan found the scarab at the foot of Tel Azeka, an archaeological mound near Beit Shemesh. Previous excavations in the area have revealed an ever-shifting mix of cultures across the site's history, from a Judahite Kingdom that featured city walls and agricultural installations to the possible site of the Biblical battle between David and Goliath found in the book of First Samuel. Unlike the archaeologists that have dug up the site over the years, Ziv needed no formal training for her find. Omer said in a translated video statement that out of the 70,000 stones around Ziv, she picked up the one that was an amulet and 'saw that something was different about it.' 'We have been excavating here for almost 15 years,' Oded Lipschits, professor and director of the Tel Aviv University archeological dig at the site, said in a statement, 'and the excavation findings show that during the Middle Bronze and Late Bronze ages, here in Tel Azekah, thrived one of the most important cities in the Judean lowlands. The scarab found by Ziv joins a long list of Egyptian and Canaanite finds discovered here, which attest to the close ties and cultural influences between Canaan and Egypt during that period.' Lipschits said that the locally made artifact found by Ziv was inspired by Egyptian styles. Amichai Eliyahu, Israeli Minister of Heritage, said Ziv's find and the family's reporting of it deepens connections to ancient civilizations. 'Thanks to her, everyone will be able to see it and enjoy it,' he said. The scarab now joins additional artifacts from the era for a special public display at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in honor of Passover. Many of the items will be shown for the first time, including seals of pharaohs, Egyptian statues, ritual vessels, and now a scarab amulet discovered by an enthralled 3-year-old. You Might Also Like Can Apple Cider Vinegar Lead to Weight Loss? Bobbi Brown Shares Her Top Face-Transforming Makeup Tips for Women Over 50
Yahoo
04-04-2025
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Toddler finds stone which turns out to be 3,800-year-old artifact with Biblical background
During a recent family outing to Tel Azekah in Israel, 3-year-old Ziv Nitzan strolled along a path with her family. She picked up a stone which turned out to be an ancient scarab amulet dating back 3,800 years. 'Out of the 7,000 stones around her, she picked up one stone. Then she brushed off the sand and saw that something was different about it," Omer Nitzan, Ziv's older sister, said in a translated video. 'When she rubbed it and removed sand from it, we saw that something was different about it,' continued Omer. 'I called my parents to come see the beautiful stone and we realised we'd discovered an archaeological find!' Tel Azekah, where the toddler unearthed the artifact, is a well-known archaeological site in Israel's Shephelah area where excavations have taken place for about 15 years. And if Azekah sounds familiar, your Bible studies do you justice: it features in David and Goliath from the First Book of Samuel. They then 'immediately reported this' to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who subsequently shared on Facebook that the young Ziv had indeed come across an important item. Daphna Ben-Tor, a specialist in ancient amulets and seals, revealed the significance behind the item: it is a Canaanite scarab dating back to the Middle Bronze Age. She explained that Canaanite scarabs were used as seals and amulets, found in 'graves, in public buildings and in private homes.' Sometimes, they bear 'symbols and messages that reflect religious beliefs or status,' she added. Scarab beetles, as Ben-Tor noted, held sacred status in ancient Egypt, symbolizing new life – as the Egyptian word for scarab comes from the verb meaning 'to come into being.' As such, ancient Egyptians viewed the scarab as a symbol of the incarnation of god. Archaeologists have found numerous artefacts in Tel Azekah, including ancient city walls and agricultural structures from the Judahite Kingdom. 'Excavation findings show that during the Middle Bronze and Late Bronze Ages, here in Tel Azekah thrived one of the most important cities in the Judean lowlands,' said Oded Lipschits, director of the Tel Aviv University archaeological dig. 'The scarab found by Ziv joins a long list of Egyptian and Canaanite finds discovered here, which attest to the close ties and cultural influences between Canaan and Egypt during that period.' For her efforts in discovering the ancient amulet, Ziv Nitzan was honored with a certificate for outstanding citizenship.
