Hundreds of looted ancient relics found in Jerusalem apartment

Arutz Sheva ^ | 7/3/22

[Eleutheria5]

Rare and decorated bone and ivory items from the biblical period and ancient bowls dating back some 1,500 years, bearing spells and incantations in Hebrew, were uncovered in the home of a resident of the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of Jerusalem, suspected of illegal trade in antiquities.

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The incantation bowls, known as the “swearing bowls” were used as a kind of amulet in ancient times, and date back to the 8th-4th centuries CE. It was common practice to bury them under the house floor for protection. Inside the bowls, magical inscriptions were written in the Babylonian-Aramaic language. The inscription in the bowl is meant to fight curses, demons, diseases, and pests.

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“Occasionally, as can be seen in one of the bowls, a figure of the “night” demon, was painted in the center of the bowl, representing the individual that the bowl was meant to ward off. In 2003, following the war in Iraq, thousands of stolen “incantation bowls” began to enter international trade markets.”

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In addition to hundreds of coins, rare items from the biblical period were discovered in the suspect's house - bone and ivory objects decorated in Phoenician style, with Egyptian motifs, that included scenes from the animal world, alongside geometric ornaments.

In one of the objects appear two griffons - winged lions whose face is human, facing each other. The second artifact included a description of a convoy of four winged lions marching one after the other. Similar ivory objects have been discovered in past excavations in an antiquity site in Samaria, where a large collection of ivory - known as "Samaria Ivories" was discovered – as well as at other antiquity sites such as Tel Megiddo.

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[Eleutheria5]

Just to post something unrelated to Ukraine, for a breather.

[Cronos]

Babylonian Aramaic? I thought the two were from separate branches of the Semitic language family. But I could be wrong

[Red Badger]

PinGGG!...................

[jjotto]

Think of various Romance languages. Similar, but not the same.

The Aramaic of the Jewish Babylonian Talmud is not the exactly the same as the Aramaic of the Syriac Christians.

[butlerweave]

Were they hiding ? LOl

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

I need a swearing bowl with a rope to carry it. My sons hate when i cuss. Bad habit like cigarettes only worse.

[larrytown]

Swearing jar works better - you don’t have to dig it up first before tossing in the spare change.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger for the ping, and thanks E for posting it.

Sidebar: On the History of the Babylonian Jewish Aramaic Reading Traditions.