A U.S. High School Student Discovers a 3,300-Year-Old Amulet During a Tour in the Judean Lowlands

A few days after arriving in Israel as part of a Muss High School Israel program run by Jewish National Fund-USA, Shiloh Attoun noticed a rare find lying on the road – a scarab-like amulet seal. The amulet was entrusted to the National Treasures Department, and Shiloh received a certificate of appreciation from the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Shiloh Attoun, 17, a high school student attending Jewish National Fund-USA’s Muss High School Israel (Muss), chanced upon a surprising find during a study tour of Tel Gezer National Park in the Judean Lowlands – an ancient 3,300-year-old “scarab” amulet decorated with cobra motifs.

Shiloh found the amulet during his group’s first excursion in Israel. Along with Benji Hain, Dean of Students at Muss, he reported the special find to the Israel Antiquities Authority. Following the report, archaeologist Adam William Asper, a supervisor in the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Central Region, met the group at the school. He collected the special find for the National Treasures of Israel and presented Shiloh with a certificate of appreciation for demonstrating good citizenship.

The scarab amulets found in Israel – sometimes used as seals – attest to ancient Egypt’s cultural influence on our region and its ties with Egypt during the period of Egyptian rule here, some 3,500 years ago. The ancient city of Gezer, where the scarab was discovered, was one of the most important Canaanite cities in the country during the period of Egyptian rule and controlled a central strategic crossroads in the Judean Lowlands, the “Shephelah”.

A scarab is an amulet shaped like a dung beetle. Considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians, the beetle was a symbol of new life because it rolled a ball of dung, representing death, and laid its eggs inside it, from which new life emerged. The Egyptian name is derived from the verb “to be formed,” or “to be created, to come into being,” because the Egyptians saw the scarab as an incarnate symbol of the god who creates life.

Shiloh shares his impressions: “This was our class’s first trip to see the country; we arrived only two days earlier. As we were learning about Tel Gezer’s history and archaeology, I noticed a small, interesting object on the ground. It looked ancient. I picked it up and consulted my guide. I couldn’t believe it was happening to me – a moment ago we were talking about the slim chances of ever discovering such a find, and here was one right in my hand!”

The amulet was examined by Professor Ido Koch of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, who dated the seal to the Late Bronze Age (second millennium BCE). According to Prof. Koch, “An interesting scene appears on the scarab: two cobras above a semi-ellipse. The cobra, identified with the biblical serpent and called in Egyptian and in Greek ‘Uraeus,’ was a very common protective and royal symbol in ancient Egypt and the southern Levant. The semi-ellipse below the cobras represents the Egyptian hieroglyphic sign ‘nb’, which means ‘lord.’ A scarab depicting a similar scene – but with three snakes – was earlier found in the Tel Megiddo excavations.”

“Shiloh’s story is a charming example of the connection forged between the young people who come to study in Israel and the country’s history and archaeology, through firsthand experience in the field,” says Amit Melman, Central Region Educational Director at the Israel Antiquities Authority. “Shiloh and the program instructors deserve praise for showing responsibility and immediately handing over the find to our national repository. Thanks to them, this special find was preserved, and we can all learn from it.”

The Israel Antiquities Authority reminds the public that when discovering an archaeological find in the field, it should be left in place and not moved, and the discovery should be reported immediately to the Israel Antiquities Authority so that archaeologists can fully document the archaeological context of the find, which contains irreplaceable information.

Photo: Asaf Peretz, Israel Antiquities Authory, USA-JNF