Young Dafna Filshteiner, 12, made an incredible discovery while hiking with her family near the Tel Qana archaeological site in Hod Hasharon, located in central Israel: a curious stone in the shape of a beetle, decorated with strange symbols, which turned out to be an amulet from ancient Egypt. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Thursday, November 28, that the object dates from the New Kingdom period and is therefore approximately 3,500 years old.
“I insisted stubbornly”
As she searches for “ porcupine needles and pebbles » on the surface of the ground, the young girl takes what her mother first takes for a simple stone or a pearl. But Dafna, who examines the small artifact with interest, is convinced that it is something else. “ It was after seeing decorative patterns on the amulet that I stubbornly insisted, for me it was more than a simple stone “, she says. After some research on the Internet, the family soon realized the importance of their discovery and contacted the IAA.
The scorpion is also the symbol of the Egyptian goddess Serket © Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority
The first observations of specialists make it possible to establish that it is an amulet dating from the New Egyptian Kingdom, a period ranging from approximately 1500 to 1000 BC. It takes the form of a dung beetle, a sacred insect to the ancient Egyptians, which represents rebirth and new life because of the sphere of dung it carries and in which it plants its eggs. According to IAA Bronze Age expert Dr. Yitzhak Paz, the scorpion motifs on the object symbolize the Egyptian goddess Serket, protector of pregnant women. Emblems néfer, meaning “good” or “chosen”, could also be identified as well as another symbol resembling a staff of power.
The Egyptian amulet discovered in Hod Hasharon © Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority
Evidence of ancient Egyptian influence
For the researchers, this discovery is “ both exciting and important “. The scarab and the motifs with which it is decorated, which are also found on other objects discovered at Tel Qana, located halfway between the West Bank and the Mediterranean coast, testify to the influence of Egyptian culture on the region. If the scarab was a characteristic element of ancient Egypt, its “ wide distribution extended far beyond the borders » of this country, points out Dr. Paz. This is evidenced by the unearthing, in February 2024, of the same type of amulet in Lower Galilee, but of Assyrian or Babylonian design. Yitzhak Paz believes that the precious object unearthed at Tel Qana could have been left by “ an important authority figure passing through the region » or deliberately buried. “ Since the amulet was discovered on the surface, it is difficult to determine its exact context », Regrets the scientist.
The archaeological site of Tel Qana © Ronen Aatedgi, Skypro, Bar-Ilan University
The scarab amulet discovered by Dafna, who was awarded a certificate of excellence for good citizenship, will be on display in Jerusalem at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archeology of Israel in Jerusalem.
A young girl discovered a 3,500-year-old Egyptian amulet – IAA PR
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