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In an exciting turn for the archeological community, a 2,800-year-old engraved stone known as a “scarab” was discovered in Israel’s Tabor Stream Nature Reserve by hiker Erez Avrahamov in early February. Avrahamov, 45, found the scarab, a small orange stone roughly the size of a thumbnail, during a recreational hike in the Lower Galilee. “I had a two-day leave from the military and decided to take advantage of the sunny days for a trip,” Avrahamov recounted. “During the trip, I saw something sparkling on the ground. At first, I thought it was a bead or an orange stone. After picking...

Carved into the scarab is the picture of an Egyptian [pharaoh], in a scene that represents the bestowal of legitimacy to a ruler.A 3,000-year-old scarab - an ancient amulet and impression seal - was discovered during a school field trip to Azor, about seven kilometers southeast of Tel Aviv...Carved into the scarab is the picture of an Egyptian pharaoh, in a scene that represents the bestowal of legitimacy to a ruler..."We were wandering around when I saw something that looked like a small toy on the ground," leading tour guide Gilad Stern of the IAA's Educational Center said. "An inner...

Archaeologists unearth 3,300-year-old coffin at Tel Shadud thought to hold Canaanite official in service of Egyptian pharaoh :snip: Found alongside the new sarcophagus was a scarab seal ring encased in gold, carved with the name of Pharaoh Seti I, who ruled ancient Egypt in the 13th century BC. Seti I conquered the region of today's Israel in the first year of his reign in order to secure Egyptian trade routes and collect taxes for Egypt, said Ron Beeri, an archaeologist who participated in the dig. The man buried in the sarcophagus might have been a tax collector for the pharaoh,...

An inscribed ancient Egyptian scarab and five clay tablets with carvings of naked women have been found in Rehob, a 3,500-year-old city in Israel. The carvings likely depict ancient fertility goddesses, such as Asherah or Ashtarte, Amihai Mazar, an archaeology professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told Live Science. "[They] were used at home, as part of popular domestic religious practice in the domestic sphere, mainly related to fertility of women," Mazar said in an email, noting that similar carvings have been found at other archaeological sites in the region... Made of a mineral called steatite, the scarab contains...

Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a rare sarcophagus featuring a slender face and a scarab ring inscribed with the name of an Egyptian pharaoh, Israel's Antiquities Authority said Wednesday. The mystery man whose skeleton was found inside the sarcophagus was most likely a local Canaanite official in the service of ancient Egypt, Israeli archaeologists believe, shining a light on a period when pharaohs governed the region. "This is a really beautiful face, very serene," said Edwin van den Brink, an Egyptologist and archaeologist with Israel's government antiquities authority. "It's very appealing." Van den Brink said archaeologists dug at Tel Shadud, an...

Meteorites from under the pyramids Samples of rock and fragments of pyramid walls brought from Egypt are being examined at the AGH University of Science and Technology. It is very likely that meteorites had dropped near the pyramids. The material was collected during the December expedition of geologists. Another aim of the expedition was to study some geoglyphics, i.e. gigantic pictures drawn on the ground. According to "Dziennik Polski", the scientists were intrigued by some unusual structures, which resembled craters formed after meteorites hit the ground. They noticed them when analysing satellite pictures of areas north of the great pyramids...