17 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

1500-year-old Amulet Made to Ward off the Evil Eye in Galilee

Discovered about 40 years ago in the Galilee village of Arbel, the necklace sheds light on life 1500 years ago.

The artifact was discovered by one of the village’s first residents, the late Tova Haviv, 40 years ago in Arbel, Galilee, and was recently handed over to the Antiquities Authority by a family member, according to the IAA.

“The amulet is part of a group of fifth–sixth-century CE amulets from the Levant that were probably produced in the Galilee and Lebanon,” Dr. Eitan Klein, deputy director of the IAA’s Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit, said in a press release.

“This group of amulets is sometimes called ‘Solomon’s Seal’ and the rider is depicted overcoming the evil spirit – in this case, a female identified with the mythological figure Gello/Gyllou, who threatens women and children and is associated with the evil eye. The eye on the reverse is identifiable as the evil eye, being attacked and vanquished by various means. The amulet was therefore probably used to guard against the evil eye, possibly to protect women and children.”

The rider is depicted in the act of throwing a sphere at a female figure on the ground, surrounded by the inscription in Greek reading “The One God who Conquers Evil.” (Photos: Dafna Gazit/Israel Antiquities Authority)

The pendant is shaped like a triangle and has a halo around the head of a horse rider on one side. The rider is shown throwing a sphere at a female figure on the ground, surrounded by the Greek inscription “The One God Who Conquers Evil.”

Under the horse, the Greek letters I A W appear, which correspond to the Jewish divine name Y-H-W-H. On the other side of the object, an eye is pierced by arrows and surrounded by dangerous animals – two lions, a snake, a scorpion, and a bird – as well as another Greek inscription that reads “One God.”

Despite the use of non-Jewish symbolism, the fact that the object was discovered in Arbel, a Jewish settlement during the Byzantine period, suggests that it belonged to a Jew.

“Although scholars generally identify the wearers of such amulets as Christians or Gnostics, the fact that the amulet was found within a Jewish settlement containing a synagogue in the fifth-sixth centuries CE may indicate that even Jews of the period wore amulets of this type for protection against the evil eye and demons,” said Klein.

Dr. Eitan Klein expressed his gratitude and thanked that the necklace was handed over to the IAA.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Cover Photo: DAFNA GAZIT/ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY

Related Articles

1800-year-old statue head found in Ancient Smyrna Theater in western Turkey

30 July 2022

30 July 2022

A statue head dated to the 2nd century AD was unearthed during the excavations at the Ancient Smyrna Theater, located...

7500-year-old cursed city of Iran

17 March 2023

17 March 2023

Sialk Hills, located in the southwestern part of Kashan city in Iran, was known among the locals as a ‘cursed...

An unexpected shipwreck was unearthed at the Tallinn construction site

18 April 2022

18 April 2022

During the construction of the office building on Lootsi Street in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital on the Baltic Sea, a shipwreck...

Italian Versailles being returned to its former glory through

17 May 2023

17 May 2023

The Italian Royal Palace of Caserta, a long-neglected near Naples, is being restored to its former glory through a vast...

A unique bone Scythian scepter from the 5th century BC was discovered in Northeast Bulgaria

1 October 2023

1 October 2023

A unique bone scepter belonging to a Scythian warlord from the 5th century BC was discovered during excavations in the...

An unknown church with a special floor plan discovered in Erwitte, northwestern Germany

18 September 2023

18 September 2023

Archaeologists from the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL) have discovered the remains of a former church from the 10th century near...

Archaeologists discovered how wine was cooled in Roman legions on the Danube

15 September 2023

15 September 2023

Lead archaeologist Piotr Dyczek, a professor at the Center for Research on Antiquities of Southeastern Europe at the University of...

Water Cultu in Hittites and Eflatunpınar Hittite Water Monument

4 February 2021

4 February 2021

The Hittites, which left their mark on the Bronze Age period in Anatolia, is a society that draws attention with...

Archaeologists Discover Rare Boundary Stone From the Tetrarchy Period of the Roman Empire Contains Two Unknown Place Names

21 January 2025

21 January 2025

In northern Galilee, excavations at Tel Avel Beit Ma’akha, about 1.2 miles south of Metula, have produced a remarkable find:...

Netherlands’s unique treasure finds of medieval gold jewelry and silver coins

12 March 2023

12 March 2023

The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (the National Museum of Antiquities) in the Netherlands has announced that a unique treasure of 1000-year-old...

Treasure Hunter Claims to Find First Council of Nicaea’s Location, Demands $50 Million for Discovery

26 April 2025

26 April 2025

In a startling revelation, Mustafa Uysal, a treasure hunter from Bursa, has claimed to have unearthed an underground city in...

Isotopic Evidence reveals surprising dietary practices of pre-agricultural human groups in Morocco

30 April 2024

30 April 2024

It has long been accepted wisdom that hunter-gatherer societies lived primarily off of meat. But fresh data from an innovative...

Italian Research Team May Have Found Plato’s Burial Site in Athens

23 April 2024

23 April 2024

Graziano Ranocchia, a papyrologist at the University of Pisa, said he found Plato’s exact burial place based on papyri findings...

Archaeologists discovered the monastery of Queen Cynethryth, a strong Anglo-Saxon queen

19 August 2021

19 August 2021

Archaeologists from the University of Reading and local volunteers excavating on the grounds of Holy Trinity Church have made an...

Well-preserved 2,000-year-old Chime Bells (Bianzhong) discovered in China

3 September 2023

3 September 2023

A total of 24 well-preserved Chinese bianzhong (chime bells) in two sets from the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC)...