22 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ancient Hebrew “Incantation Bowls” discovered in a home in Israel

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said Monday that 1,500-year-old magical “incantation bowls” and other rare and ornate bone and ivory items from the Biblical period were unearthed in the home of a Jerusalem resident suspected of participating in the illegal antiquities trade.

Among the items the IAA found in an individual’s home are numerous “Swearing Bowls” that date from the 4th-8th centuries CE in what is now Iraq.

The incantation bowls, known as the “swearing bowls”, came from Mesopotamia, and were used as a kind of amulet to fight curses, demons, diseases, and pests.

In an era when literacy was rare, some people made a living by writing personalized messages to repel curses, demons, or other perceived threats. One of the bowls collected carries a painted figure of the “night demon,” representing the individual that the bowl was meant to ward off.

Artifacts seized from a home in Jerusalem's Ramat Shlomo neighborhood
Artifacts were seized from a home in Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo neighborhood. Photo: YOLI SCHWARTZ/ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY

It was common practice to bury such bowls under the house floor for protection, according to the IAA.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Various chemicals that were confiscated from the house are believed to have been intended for use in the restoration of the pottery and for cleaning ancient metals and coins. The IAA believes the suspect repaired and restored the bowls to sell them.

Hundreds of antique bronze and silver coins, glassware and ancient weapons were also discovered in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood home during a search by the IAA’s Robbery Prevention Unit and the Israel Police, the IAA said in a press release.

The finds also include 3,000-year-old rare bone and ivory artifacts, decorated in Phoenician style, with Egyptian motifs that included scenes from the animal world, alongside geometric ornaments.

Assyrian tablet
Assyrian tablet. Photo: YOLI SCHWARTZ/ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY

Two griffons (winged lions with human faces) facing each other appear in one of the objects, and another artifact included a description of a convoy of four-winged lions marching one after the other, the IAA said.

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, the IAA said.

The items were used as decorations, attached to wooden furniture by nails in the ninth and eighth centuries BCE.

The IAA said finding decorated artifacts made of ivory from this period is extremely rare. The Robbery Prevention Unit believes they were excavated illegally in one of the biblical mounds in Samaria or in the North.

“Antiquities belong to all of us. They are our heritage,” said the Authority’s director Eli Eskosido “Unauthorized antiquities dealers encourage looters to go out and destroy ancient sites in search of finds for sale on the antiquities market. In the name of greed, they plunder antiquity sites, removing the finds from their historical context, thus obscuring parts of human history.”

The Authority also hopes that documents seized at the home will allow them to identify who the items were bought from, potentially implicating a much wider network.

Cover Photo: Swearing bowls (Photo: YOLI SCHWARTZ/ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY)

Related Articles

New AI Tool ‘Fragmentarium’ Brings Ancient Babylonian Texts Together

6 February 2023

6 February 2023

An artificial intelligence (AI) bot was developed by linguists at the Institute for Assyriology at Ludwig Maximilian University in Germany...

A 2000-year-old wooden figure was unearthed in a Buckinghamshire ditch

13 January 2022

13 January 2022

An extremely rare, carved wooden figure from the early Roman era has been discovered in a waterlogged ditch during work...

Unique Roman Aristocratic Tomb Discovered in Sillyon Ancient City

19 August 2025

19 August 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered a unique Roman-era tomb during ongoing excavations in Sillyon Ancient City, located in Türkiye’s Antalya’s Serik district....

Nineteen Ancient Tombs from the 4th Century BC Unearthed in Padula, Campania

8 February 2025

8 February 2025

In Padula, located in the Campania region of southern Italy, authorities announced the remarkable discovery of nineteen ancient tombs during...

Unique Gold Ring and Crystal Amulet among 30,000 Medieval Treasures Uncovered in Sweden

7 March 2024

7 March 2024

In the Swedish medieval city of Kalmar, archaeologists from the State Historical Museums unearthed the remains of over 30,000 objects...

“Secret” Excavations in Luxembourg Reveal 141 Roman Gold Coins from Nine Roman Emperors

13 January 2025

13 January 2025

Archaeologists uncovered a Roman gold coin hoard of 141 Roman gold coins dating to the second half of the 4th...

Archaeologists unearthed a pot of copper coins in first major discovery at Mohenjo Daro in Pakistan, in 93 years

18 November 2023

18 November 2023

A pot full of copper coins was discovered from a stupa (a dome-shaped building erected as a Buddhist shrine) at...

4,000-Year-Old Dilmun Temple Discovered on Failaka Island, Kuwait

12 November 2024

12 November 2024

A joint Danish-Kuwaiti excavation team led by the Mosgard Museum has uncovered a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age temple linked to the...

Monumental Roman complex discovered in France

19 March 2023

19 March 2023

In the city of Reims in northeastern France, archaeologists have discovered an ancient Roman-era monumental complex dating from the 2nd...

In the excavations at Tepecik Mound in Aydın, Türkiye, a palace-like structure dating back to the 13th century BCE was discovered

13 August 2023

13 August 2023

Excavations at Tepecik Mound in the Çine district of Aydın province, located in the western part of Turkey, revealed a...

The Earliest Evidence of a Domesticated Dog in the Arabian Peninsula

9 April 2021

9 April 2021

Dogs have been the best friend of humans since ancient times. Although it is not known exactly when dogs were...

Archaeologists Discovered Submerged Stoa Complex in Ancient Salamis, Greece

27 October 2023

27 October 2023

Archaeologists exploring the east coast of Salamis, the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, discovered a large, long, and...

Carvings at Göbeklitepe could be World’s Oldest Calendar

6 August 2024

6 August 2024

Experts suggest that markings on a stone pillar at the 12,000-year-old Göbeklitepe archaeological site in Türkiye probably represent the oldest...

Archaeologists in Iraq find 2,700-year-old wine press

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

Stone bas-reliefs carved into the walls of an irrigation canal some nine kilometers (5.5 miles) long, and the remains of...

1,500-year-old mosaic found near the Caliph’s palace at Khirbat al-Minya on the Sea of Galilee

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Archaeologists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz uncovered an ancient mosaic that once lay in the shadow of a caliph palace...