7 December 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

The Half of the Rare Oil Lamp Found in Jerusalem May be in Budapest

We had recently reported on a grotesque lamp found in Jerusalem. The other half of the oil lamp, which is in the shape of a half-face, may have been found.

A 2,000-year-old oil lamp shaped like half of a  grotesque face discovered in Jerusalem last week seems to have a mate, which was discovered nine years ago in Budapest.

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced last week that the lamp, dated to date from the late first or early second centuries CE, was the first of its kind discovered in Israel and one of only a few worldwide.

According to Jerusalem’s City of David archeological site, after the announcement of the find, Hungarian archeologist Dr. Gabor Lassanyi reached out to say that he may be in possession of the other half, which was uncovered during a 2012 excavation in Budapest.

“In an excavation, we conducted at Aquincum (modern-day Budapest), we found a remarkably rare object: at the bottom of the building, we discovered a bronze half-lamp depicting the right half of a face shaped like a Roman theater mask,” Lassanyi wrote to Ari Levy, the head of the Jerusalem excavation.

A bronze oil lamp discovered in Budapest

A bronze oil lamp discovered in Budapest in 2012 matched one found in Jerusalem’s City of David in May 2021. (Ágnes Bakos/Bence Tihanyi)

According to Lassanyi, “Only a few known creations that resemble this exist from this time period, and they sit in museums and throughout private collections in the world, yet none of them are like these two halves.  It is very difficult to craft in such an accurate way, and therefore, it is likely that the two halves of the lamps were created in the same artisan house and may even have served as a pair to one complete piece.”

The lamp found in Jerusalem is on the left-hand side of a face, while the Budapest lamp is on the right-hand side.

Lassanyi and Levy discovered that the two lamps’ halves were identical in size when they first examined them. Furthermore, the lamp discovered in Hungary has a depressed connecting slot, while the lamp discovered in Israel has a protruding ridge, suggesting that they may be related.

According to a statement from the City of David, Israeli archeologists are currently exploring different options to determine if the two lamps are actually a similar pair, including the prospect of printing a three-dimensional model of the lamp in Israel and sending it to Hungary for researchers to try to link the two halves.

Source: The Times of Israel

Related Articles

Vindolanda marks the 1900th anniversary of Hadrian’s Wall with an altar discovery

9 February 2022

9 February 2022

The excavation season hasn’t started yet, but the Vindolanda Roman fort has kicked off Hadrian’s Wall’s 1900th anniversary year with...

A stone statue (Balbal) with height up to 3 meters found in the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan

18 October 2022

18 October 2022

A balbal (stone statue) with a height of up to 3 meters was found during agricultural work in the Ak-Bulun...

Egyptian Pharaoh Slain in Battle Because of the Hippos

17 February 2021

17 February 2021

The mummy of Pharaoh Seqenenre Taa II, found in 1880, was re-analyzed. When it was found, the deep wounds on...

A center on the Anatolian Mesopotamian trade route; Tavsanli Mound

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

Excavations at Tavşanlı mound, which is known to be the first settlement in Western Anatolia during the Bronze Age, continue....

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...

Iraq’s historic Arch of Ctesiphon undergoes restoration work

28 November 2021

28 November 2021

Iraq’s Arch of Ctesiphon, the world’s largest brick-built arch, is having restoration work to return it to its former splendour,...

Altar site for Greek goddess Demeter unearthed in Turkey’s ancient city of Blaundus

21 December 2021

21 December 2021

An altar site for the Greek goddess Demeter was unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Blaundus,...

Mass graves of Crusaders killed in the 13th century have been discovered in Lebanon

17 September 2021

17 September 2021

From 1096 to 1291, waves of Europeans took up arms and marched into the Middle East. They hope to “take...

Rare Ancient Stamps Found in Falster May Show Way to an Unknown King’s Home

27 July 2023

27 July 2023

In the center of Falster, southeast of Denmark, a man with a metal detector has made an important discovery. The...

Archaeologists reveal largest paleolithic cave art site in Eastern Iberia

17 September 2023

17 September 2023

More than 100 ancient paintings and engravings thought to be at least 24,000 years old were found in the cave...

4000-year-old boat salvaged near the ancient city of Uruk one of the most important cities in ancient Mesopotamia

6 April 2022

6 April 2022

A team of archaeologists from the Iraqi German Mission of the State Board of Antiquities and the Orient Department of...

2,000-Year-Old Dancing Man Statuette Unearthed in Siberia

6 May 2021

6 May 2021

During excavations for a new bridge over the Ob River in Novosibirsk, Russia’s third-largest district, a ten-centimeter-tall figurine was discovered....

Archeologists in Peru find a 1,000-year-old adolescent mummy wrapped in bundle

25 April 2023

25 April 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed a more than 1,000-year-old mummy on the outskirts of Peru’s capital, Lima. The mummified adolescent was wrapped...

Tang-e Chogan bas-relief carvings, Majestic treasures of Sassanid art, are under threat of destruction 

9 March 2022

9 March 2022

Treasures of Sassanid art, some of Tang-e Chogan’s bas-reliefs are under threat of complete destruction due to lack of maintenance...

China’s 4300-Year-Old Ancient Pyramids

26 March 2021

26 March 2021

Shaanxi Province in Northwest China is famous for its rich archaeological treasures. Among the many sites discovered in Shaanxi, the...