6 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Rare biblical ‘balsam tree’ found depicted on ancient Jerusalem amethyst seal

Archaeologists working in the Old City of Jerusalem have discovered an engraved amethyst seal in the Second Temple, thought to be the earliest depiction of a plant used for incense and Cleopatra’s perfume.

Volunteers sifting through earth collected during an archaeological dig in the region discovered the tiny artifact. 2000 years after the little seal nearly disappeared.

The seal — depicting the plant known variously as biblical persimmon, bosem or balsam, or even the Balm of Gilead — was discovered at the Foundation Stones of the Western Wall, according to a statement released Thursday.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said the plant, also known as Bosem, balsam, or “Balm of Gilead,” was used in the manufacture of expensive perfumes, medicines, and ointments during the Second Temple period. This biblical persimmon plant, which is not at all related to the orange persimmon fruit that we are familiar with today, is known from biblical and historical sources.

Some experts believe the plant was given to King Solomon by the Queen of Sheba, the IAA said.

The balm of Gilead was also known to be a component of the favorite perfume of Cleopatra, the legendary Queen of Egypt.

Researchers Eli Shukron, Prof. Shua Amorai-Stark, and Malka Hershkovitz said in the statement that the seal depicts a bird, probably a dove, and a thick branch with five fruits on it, which they believe to be the persimmon plant.

“This is an important find because it may be the first time a seal has been discovered in the entire world with an engraving of the precious and famous plant, which until now we could only read about in historical descriptions,” said Eli Shukron, who, on behalf of the IAA and the City of David, carried out the excavation where the seal was discovered at the foundations of the Western Wall.

The seal is made of a precious amethyst, in a range of shades of purple and lilac, with a hole where a metal wire was inserted which was used to wear the stone as a ring. The length of the oval stone seal is 10 mm, its width is 5 mm and its thickness is 7 mm. The oval stone also features a bird, probably a dove. The experts noted that both the tree and the dove embodied good fortune and success.

According to Amorai-Stark, stamps containing engravings of plants had previously been discovered, but this was the first time one showed a branch packed with fruit, leading them to believe it was the biblical persimmon.

“Towards the end of the Second Temple Period, the use of stone stamps expanded and became more common, but in most stamps discovered so far with plant engravings, it is common to find plants that were common in Israel at the time: vines, dates, and olives, which are among the seven species. But on this stone seal, we immediately noticed that the fruit that appears on it is unlike any of the fruits we have encountered to date,” said Amorai-Stark.

According to the expert, the owner of the rings was likely a wealthy person.

Cover Photo: Amethyst stone depicting balsam tree. Photo: ELIYAHU YANAI/CITY OF DAVID

Related Articles

An important discovery in Haltern: Mini temples and sacrificial pit discovered in Roman military encampment

16 November 2023

16 November 2023

Archaeologists from the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL) have found remains of the foundations of two mini Roman temples and a...

A beautiful Medieval key discovered in Claverham village, UK

11 October 2023

11 October 2023

Earlier this year the Kemble fieldwork team from Cotswold Archaeology undertook a small excavation for Newland Homes on the edge...

More than 1,300 prehistoric burial mounds in western Azerbaijan systematically surveyed for the first time

2 January 2025

2 January 2025

Over 1,300 archaeological sites in Azerbaijan were systematically surveyed and documented in two field campaigns in 2021 and 2023 by...

Archaeologists unearth the long-lost homestead of King Pompey in Lynn

3 July 2024

3 July 2024

Archaeologists from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and a historian from Northeastern University believe they might have found the...

Archaeologists uncovered a kurgan tomb from a previously unknown culture

8 January 2023

8 January 2023

Archaeologists from the Siberian Federal University have unearthed a kurgan tomb and numerous bronze tools and artifacts from a previously...

In Turkey’s Gedikkaya Cave, a stone figurine was discovered inside a 16,500-year-old votive pit

17 December 2022

17 December 2022

A stone figurine was discovered in a 16500-year-old votive pit belonging to the Epi-paleolithic period, the transition phase from the...

The newly discovered fossils are 200,000 years old in Denisova Cave

29 November 2021

29 November 2021

Scientists have discovered the earliest remains of a human lineage known as the Denisovans. Researchers have identified stone artifacts connected...

Archaeologists have made a shocking discovery after a re-examination of a mummified teen mom who died in childbirth

29 December 2023

29 December 2023

Archaeologists have made a shocking discovery after re-examining the mummified remains of a teen mom aged just 14-17 who died...

Three-room Urartian tomb with liquid offering area (libation) found in eastern Turkey

18 January 2023

18 January 2023

A three-room Urartian tomb with a rock-cut libation (liquid offering area) to offer gifts to the gods was unearthed in...

World’s Smallest Stegosaurus Track Found

14 March 2021

14 March 2021

The smallest trace of stegosaurus in the world that lived 155 million years ago was found. Stegosaurus, a herbivorous dinosaur,...

The world’s northernmost Palaeolithic settlement has been discovered on Kotelny Island in the Arctic

20 August 2021

20 August 2021

During the Paleolithic period, hominins lived in tiny groups and subsisted by collecting plants, fishing, and killing or scavenging wild...

A courtesan ‘hetaira’ tomb was discovered in a burial cave during excavations in Via Hebron

27 September 2023

27 September 2023

During excavations in the Via Hebron in Jerusalem, a burial cave containing the tomb of a courtesan (hetaira in Ancient...

Hundreds of skeletons found on Welsh beach

4 July 2021

4 July 2021

Archaeologists found the burial site of women and children just below the surface of the sand dunes on Whitesands Bay...

Ancient Hippodrome, Subject of Ben-Hur Movie, Will Become “Arkeo Sports Park”

8 August 2021

8 August 2021

Ben-Hur, a wealthy prince living in Jerusalem, is a historical figure who struggled for the freedom of the Jews during...

The 4,500-year-old Wisconsin canoe was built around the same time that Stonehenge was being constructed

31 May 2024

31 May 2024

Historians from Wisconsin have reported the amazing finding of at least eleven prehistoric canoes in Lake Mendota, which is close...