11 July 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

40 Skeletons in Giant Jars Found in the Corsica Necropolis

16 May 2021

16 May 2021

Archaeologists working on the French island of Corsica discovered around 40 ancient graves where persons were buried inside gigantic jars...

Archaeology team discovers a 7,000-year-old and 13-hectare settlement in Serbia

30 April 2024

30 April 2024

Researchers have discovered a previously unknown Late Neolithic settlement near the Tamiš River in Northeast Serbia. The discovery was made...

Archeologists discovered a treasure trove at the bottom of an ancient Roman bathhouse drain near Hadrian’s Wall

1 February 2023

1 February 2023

Archeologists in Carlisle, England, discovered a treasure trove at the bottom of the drain system of an ancient Roman bathhouse...

Baptismal font from the Ottonian period discovered: Oldest evidence of a quatrefoil-shaped basin north of the Alps

19 March 2024

19 March 2024

The site of a font of the medieval Ottonian dynasty, from the tenth century, has been discovered in the crypt...

Unique work of Minoan art, the Pylos Combat Agate must be the David of the Prehistoric era

21 November 2021

21 November 2021

Found in a Greek tomb dating back 3,500 years, the artifact is so well designed that it looks as lively...

Archaeologists find Viking Age shipyard in Swedish island

15 June 2022

15 June 2022

Archaeologists from Stockholm University have discovered a Viking Age shipyard at Birka on the island of Björkö in Lake Mälaren,...

Serbian Archaeologists Unearth Roman Triumphal Arch Dedicated to Emperor Caracalla

24 January 2024

24 January 2024

Archaeologists in Serbia have unearthed an ancient Roman triumphal arch dating back to the third century at Viminacium, a Roman...

Queen Kubaba: Some 4,500 years ago, a woman rose to power and reigned over one of the largest civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia

28 December 2023

28 December 2023

Is it possible to say who was the first queen in history? Given the size and diversity of human civilization,...

Intact Bodies of Catalan Nobles Discovered in Santes Creus Monastery

11 March 2024

11 March 2024

A team of archaeologists and anthropologists found the human remains of a dozen members of the Catalan nobility dating back...

A small temple discovered in the ancient city of Selinunte, one of the largest and most important ancient Greek cities in southern Italy

9 August 2024

9 August 2024

Recent excavations in the ancient Magna Graecia city of Selinunte in southwestern Sicily have revealed the presence of a new...

Return of a 4,250-year-old Hattian golden beak-spouted ewer to Turkey

27 October 2021

27 October 2021

The 4,250-year-old golden beak-spouted ewer was returned to the Anatolian Civilizations Museum by the Gilbert Art Foundation. Culture and Tourism...

Ancient Curse Tablets Reveal Dark Spiritual Practices in the Roman Empire – and Their Echo in the Bible

17 June 2025

17 June 2025

New Research Connects Ritual Cursing to the Book of Revelation From jealous lovers to petty thieves, people in the ancient...

2,700-Year-Old Pre-Roman Iron Age necropolis Unearthed in Naples, Italy

8 May 2024

8 May 2024

An approximately 2,700-year-old Pre-Roman necropolis was discovered by archaeologists during excavations conducted in advance of a planned electric power plant...

Archaeologists discover secondary gate of old Bazira city in Pakistan

26 March 2022

26 March 2022

Archaeologists claimed to have discovered the secondary gate of the city of Bazira during new excavations at Barikot in Pakistan’s...

Thousands of Ancient Tombs Discovered in Xian

23 February 2021

23 February 2021

According to the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Institute, more than 4,600 ancient cultural remains were discovered during the expansion project of...