7 December 2024 The Future is the Product of the Past

Rare ivory plaques from First Temple Period were discovered in Jerusalem

An extraordinary find was made in Jerusalem: an assemblage of ivory plaques from the First Temple period, one of only a few found anywhere in the world and the first of its kind in Jerusalem.

The site contained other priceless objects in addition to the ivories that were found there. Agate, a semi-precious stone, a seal impression bearing the name “Natan-Melech servant of the king,” jars of wine spiced with vanilla, decorated stone objects, and wooden objects that appeared to be a part of larger wooden furnishings were also discovered.

The plaques, which are approximately 2,700 years old, were discovered during excavations at the Givati Parking Lot in the City of David archaeological and tourism site, which is part of the Jerusalem Walls National Park, by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Tel Aviv University.

The ivories, considered one of the most expensive raw materials in the ancient world – even more expensive than gold – were discovered among the ruins of a palatial building used when Jerusalem was at its peak of power (the eighth and seventh centuries BCE).

Experts believe that the decorated ivories were inlaid in wooden furnishings used by the building’s residents, who were likely people of means, influence, and power, such as high government officials or priests.

Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

Professor Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Cultures and Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA): “To date, we only knew of decorated ivories from the capitals of the great kingdoms in the First Temple period, such as Nimrud, the capital of Assyria, or Samaria, the capital of the Israelite Kingdom. Now, for the first time, Jerusalem joins these capitals. We were already aware of Jerusalem’s importance and centrality in the region in the First Temple period, but the new finds illustrate how important it was and places it in the same league as the capitals of Assyria and Israel. The discovery of the ivories is a step forward in understanding the political and economic status of the city as part of global administration and economy.”

The impressive structure where the ivories were discovered was completely destroyed by a massive fire, which is believed to have occurred during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, and the ivories were found broken into small pieces and burned.

Ivory is mentioned only a few times in the Bible, always in connection with royalty or great wealth – the description of the throne of King Solomon (I Kings 10:18); an ivory palace built by King Ahab in Samaria (1 Kings 22:39); and the prophet Amos’ castigation of Israelite nobility: “They lie on ivory beds, lolling on their couches” (Amos 6:4).

Photo: Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority.

No less than 1,500 fragments were discovered during excavations as part of the Emek Tsurim National Park wet-sieving project. Only following a unique restoration project led by conservator Orna Cohen and Ilan Naor of the Israel Antiquities Authority, were the plaques restored, and the richness of the collection revealed.

“At the end of the process of joining and ‘fusing’ hundreds of the fragments, we were able to understand that the assemblage includes remnants of at least 12 small square plaques – about 5 cm x 5 cm, at most 0.5 cm thick – which were originally inlaid in wooden furnishings,” Cohen and Naor said.

The decorations on the majority of the ivories were the same, consisting of frames incised with rosettes and a stylized tree in the center. Other plaques had lotus flowers and a geometric pattern on them.

Photo: Gil Mezuman, City of David.

According to Dr. Ido Koch and Reli Avisar of Tel Aviv University, who studied the objects, the rosette and the tree were popular symbols in the Mesopotamian visual repertoire and in other cultural centers.

Ivory objects with similar decorations were discovered in the Samaria assemblage as well as in more distant palaces such as Nimrud and Khorsabad in the heart of the Assyrian Empire. During the Assyrian Empire’s reign over Judah, the Judahite elite adopted these symbols (beginning in the second half of the eighth century BCE).

It’s interesting to note that these three images appeared at that time in Judah as the kingdom’s emblems on both the stone capitals found in Jerusalem’s Armon HaNatziv, Ramat Rachel, and Nahal Rephaim (decorated stone capitals), as well as seals used in the king’s administration (rosette seals were used to stamp jars, marking their contents as belonging to the royal household). What’s even more intriguing is the absence of animal and human mythological figures from the ivory artifacts found in Samaria, Nimrud, and other locations from the Jerusalem assemblage.

Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

“It’s possible that what we have here is evidence of a cultural choice by the Jerusalem elite as to which global symbols to adopt and which to reject,” the researchers say.

The ivories will be on display at the 23rd Conference of the City of David Studies of Ancient Jerusalem on Tuesday, September 13th. They will also be on display in October at the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Jerusalem Conference, Tel Aviv University, and the Hebrew University.

Cover Photo: The ivories were inlaid in a furnishing. Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority

Related Articles

Remarkable discovery of Iron Age and Roman treasures found near a boggy area on Anglesey

29 February 2024

29 February 2024

Metal detectorist Ian Porter unearthed sixteen historical artifacts in a boggy field on Anglesey. Among the items found were Iron...

Gravitational Wave Researchers Shed New Light on the Mystery of the 2,000-Year-Old Computer Antikythera Mechanism

28 June 2024

28 June 2024

Astronomers from the University of Glasgow who specialize in studying tiny ripples in space-time have shed new light on the...

Rare Hittite bracelet, 3300 years old, found by a farmer

28 March 2022

28 March 2022

A farmer in Turkey’s Çorum province discovered a rare 3,300-year-old ancient bracelet from the Hittite era while plowing his farm....

Archaeologists may have found the Sanctuary of Samian Poseidon described in ancient texts

11 October 2022

11 October 2022

During excavations in the foothills at the ancient acropolis of Samicum in Greece, archaeologists may have found the sanctuary of...

“Cardiff’s earliest house” unearthed during an archaeological dig may shed light on the city’s earliest inhabitants

15 July 2022

15 July 2022

Archaeological excavation in a city park in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, has uncovered what is believed to be the...

A 1,600-year-old indoor pool, the first of its kind, discovered in Albania

13 May 2024

13 May 2024

In the Albanian port city of Durrës, archaeologists have uncovered a 1600-year-old Roman indoor pool, the first of its kind....

Archaeologists uncover 4,000-year-old earliest large-scale Archaic fish-trapping facility recorded in ancient Mesoamerica

28 November 2024

28 November 2024

Archaeologists, using drones and Google Earth imagery, have discovered a 4,000-year-old network of earthen canals in what is now Belize...

Romanian Police Find the Stolen Viking Helmet

21 February 2021

21 February 2021

Romanian police specializing in heritage crimes recovered a medieval helmet of “Viking origin” on February 7, which had disappeared a...

Evidence of the oldest hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe discovered in Spanish Cave

29 September 2023

29 September 2023

A team of scientists has discovered and analyzed the first direct evidence of basketry among hunter-gatherer societies and early farmers...

A New Late Ancient Necropolis Discovered on Hvar Island

10 June 2021

10 June 2021

The protective investigation in the garden of the Radoevi Palace in the town of Hvar on the Croatian island of...

Archaeologists Unearthed Third Greatest Fire Temple Existing in Ancient Iran’s Sassanid Era

11 July 2022

11 July 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed ruins of what they believe to be the third-greatest fire temple in ancient Iran during the Sassanid...

Rare discovery: Ancient Egyptian burial reveals Ovarian Teeth in Oldest Example of Teratoma

13 November 2023

13 November 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed the oldest documented example of a teratoma discovered within the 3,000-year-old burial chamber of a young woman...

The Nightmare of the Roman Soldiers “Carnyx”

9 July 2023

9 July 2023

The Carnyx was a brass musical instrument used as a psychological weapon of war by the ancient Celts between 300...

Medieval Hub of Arts & Crafts Center discovered in Nola: The discovery could rewrite the history of early medieval Nola

23 August 2023

23 August 2023

On the outskirts of Nola, a district from the early Middle Ages has been discovered. According to the Soprintendenza Archeologia,...

Archaeologists Reveals Rare Evidence of Early Human Presence in Tajikistan

6 November 2024

6 November 2024

Archaeologists have discovered a multi-layered archaeological site in the Zeravshan Valley of central Tajikistan that reveals early human settlement in...