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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...

A newly deciphered magical amulet claims to stop evil spirits "who eat flesh and drink blood,"...About 1,600 years ago, the Mandaeans, who have lived in southern Iraq and Iran for millennia, wrote the incantation onto a lead amulet in their language Mandaic. When unfolded, the amulet looks like a long thin piece of lead.The discovery could shed light on the Mandaean religion, which is complex and blends together several beliefs. Both John the Baptist and archangel Gabriel are both important figures who practiced the religion. Modern-day Mandaeans often ritually immerse themselves in water as a form of purification, and they...

The amulet was discovered by Neshama Spielman, a twelve year-old girl from Jerusalem who came with her family to participate in the Temple Mount Sifting Project. “While I was sifting, I came across a piece of pottery that was different from others I had seen, and I immediately thought that maybe I had found something special,” said Spielman. “It’s amazing to find something thousands of years old from ancient Egypt all the way here in Jerusalem! Celebrating Passover this year is going to be extra meaningful to me.” The Passover festival, commemorating the Biblical account of the ancient Israelites Exodus...

An ancient, two-sided amulet uncovered in Cyprus contains a 59-letter inscription that reads the same backwards as it does forwards. Archaeologists discovered the amulet, which is roughly 1,500 years old, at the ancient city of Nea Paphos in southwest Cyprus. One side of the amulet has several images, including a bandaged mummy (likely representing the Egyptian god Osiris) lying on a boat and an image of Harpocrates, the god of silence, who is shown sitting on a stool while holding his right hand up to his lips. Strangely, the amulet also displays a mythical dog-headed creature called a cynocephalus, which...

(IsraelNN.com) A lifeguard diving at the Yavne-Yam antiquities site next to Palmachim beach, south of Tel-Aviv, unearthed a rare marble discus that was used 2,500 years ago to protect sea-going vessels from the evil eye. To date, only four such items have been found in the world – two of them here in Israel, one recovered from the Mediterranean Sea off the coast at Carmel in addition to the one at Yavne-Yam. The ancient white marble discus, which dates back to 400-500 BCE, was discovered by David Shalom, who handed it over to the Israel Antiquities Authority. Dror Planer, of...

NEW DELHI: With Democrat senator Barack Obama busy in the run-up to the US presidential polls, a group of well-wishers in the capital have decided to send him a symbol of his lucky charm, Lord Hanuman, to help him emerge victorious. Obama's representative Carolyn Sauvage-Mar on Tuesday received a gold-plated two-feet-high idol which she will pass it on to the Obama after it is sanctified. The idol is being presented to Obama as he is reported to be a Lord Hanuman devotee and carries with him a locket of the monkey god along with other good luck charms. An hour-long...

9 March 2007 Crystal amulet poses question on early Christianity An overlooked crystal amulet in the National Museum suggests new understandings about Christianity's origins in Denmark King Harold Bluetooth brought Christianity to Denmark roughly 1100 years ago. At least that's what he declared on the Jelling Stone located in Jutland: 'King Haraldr ordered this monument made in memory of Gormr, his father, and in memory of Thyrvé, his mother; that Haraldr who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian.' A tiny crystal amulet in the National Museum's archives suggests something quite different though, that...