An "extremely rare and unusual" ancient stone artifact—thought to be around 2,700 years old—has been discovered in Jerusalem.
The artifact in question, a seal made of black stone, was uncovered during an excavation conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the City of David organization near the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount (also known as Al-Aqsa)—a site in Jerusalem's Old City that is considered holy by Jewish people, Muslims and Christians.
The stone seal bears a name inscribed in the paleo-Hebrew script, as well as an image of a winged figure. It is thought to have been used both as an amulet and as a stamp to seal documents, Filip Vukosavović, a senior field archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), told Newsweek.
"The seal is one of the most beautiful ever discovered in excavations in ancient Jerusalem, and is executed at the highest artistic level," Yuval Baruch and Navot Rom, excavation directors on behalf of the IAA, said in a press release.
The seal has a hole drilled through it lengthwise so that it could be strung onto a chain and hung around the neck. In the center, a figure with wings is depicted in profile, wearing a long, striped shirt and striding toward the right. The figure has a mane of long curls covering the nape of the neck, and on its head sits a hat or a crown.
The figure is raising one arm upward with an open palm, perhaps indicating that it is holding some kind of object.
Depictions of winged figures such as these are known in neo-Assyrian art of the 9th-7th centuries B.C. and were considered a kind of protective magical figure, according to Vukosavović. The artifact, thus, demonstrates the influence of the Assyrian Empire—a major civilization of the ancient Near East that had conquered the Israelite Kingdom of Judah, including its capital Jerusalem.
"This is an extremely rare and unusual discovery. This is the first time that a winged 'genie'– a protective magical figure—has been found in Israeli and regional archaeology," Vukosavović said in an IAA press release.
On both sides of the figure, an inscription is engraved in paleo-Hebrew script. In English script, this inscription translates as: "Le Yehoʼezer ben Hoshʼayahu."
"[Yehoʼezer] was a common name," Ronny Reich, a researcher from the University of Haifa, told Newsweek.
The researchers believe that the stone object was originally worn as an amulet around the neck of a man called Hoshʼayahu, who held a senior position in the administration of the Kingdom of Judah. He may have worn the object as a symbol of his authority.
"It seems that the object was made by a local craftsman—a Judahite, who produced the amulet at the owner's request. It was prepared at a very high artistic level," Vukosavović said in the press release.
The working hypothesis of the experts is that upon Hoshʼayahu's death, his son, Yehoʼezer, inherited the seal, and then added both of their names on either side of the figure. The names were added in negative, or mirror, script—so that the impression would appear in positive and be legible—according to Reich.
"The combination of figure and script, and particularly a neo-Assyrian figure is uncommon in Judah," Reich said.
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