3-year-old finds 3800-year-old scarab amulet in Israel

A young girl of three years old unearthed an ancient scarab amulet dating back 3,800 years while out on a family walk in Israel. The remarkable discovery was made by Ziv Nitzan in March as she explored Tel Azekah, a historical site with origins tracing back to the Bronze Age. During their stroll on a trail scattered with gravel, Ziv was captivated by a particular stone among the many around her. Upon picking it up and dusting off the sand, Ziv noticed something unique about the rock prompting her to call over her parents and sister, Omer Nitzan, to take a closer look at the “beautiful stone.” This finding was promptly reported to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).The artifact was later identified by archaeologists as a Canaanite scarab from the Middle Bronze Age. Canaan, encompassing regions of present-day Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, held cultural significance during that time. Scarab amulets were commonly used as seals and protective charms during this era, found in places like graves, public buildings, and homes, serving as symbols of religious beliefs and status, according to Daphna Ben-Tor, an ancient amulets and seals expert at The Israel Museum. The discovery illuminates the intricate cultural ties between ancient Egypt and Canaan. Scarab amulets, fashioned in the likeness of dung beetles, originated in ancient Egypt. Egyptians revered dung beetles as sacred symbols of rebirth, where rolling balls of dung mirrored the sun god’s daily journey across the sky. The association between dung beetles and the god of creation, Khepri, stemmed from early beliefs in their supposed ability to reproduce without mating, as reported by The Israel Museum.The excavation at Tel Azekah, which has persisted for nearly 15 years, has unearthed various significant finds, demonstrating that the site thrived as a prominent city in the Judean Lowlands during the Middle Bronze and Late Bronze Ages, as stated by Oded Lipschits, the director of the Tel Aviv University archaeological dig. Ziv’s discovery of the scarab joins a vast collection of Egyptian and Canaanite artifacts uncovered at the site, pointing to the profound cultural exchanges between Canaan and Egypt during that historical epoch. The scarab and other artifacts from the Egyptian and Canaanite eras will be exhibited at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Jerusalem.