The newly-discovered figurine was meant to protect children or increase fertility, according to archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).
The 2,500-years-old figurine depicts a bare-breasted woman wearing a scarf. Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority.
The amulet was found by Zvi Ben-David, 11, from Be’er Sheva during a family trip to the HaBsor National Park in the Western Negev, Israel.
“The figurine that Zvi discovered is rare,” said IAA archaeologists Dr. Oren Shmueli and Dr. Debbie Ben Ami.
“Only one such example exists in the National Treasures collection.”
“It was probably used in the sixth-fifth centuries BCE, at the end of the Iron Age, or in the Persian period.”
The figurine is about 7 cm (2.8 inches) tall and 6 cm (2.4 inches) wide.
The artifact shows a woman with a scarf covering her head and neck, schematic facial features, and a prominent nose. The woman is bare-breasted, and her hands are folded under her chest.
“Pottery figurines of bare-breasted women are known from various periods in Israel, including the First Temple era,” the researchers said.
“They were common in the home and everyday life, like the hamsa today, and apparently served as amulets to ensure protection, good luck, and prosperity.”
“We must bear in mind that in Antiquity, the medical understanding was rudimentary. Infant mortality was very high, and about a third of those born did not survive. There was little understanding of hygiene, and fertility treatment was naturally non-existent.”
“In the absence of advanced medicine, amulets provided hope and an important way of appealing for aid.”
Source link: https://www.sci.news/archaeology/habsor-figurine-09459.html
