14 July 2025 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

A still life fresco discovered in new excavations of Pompeii Regio IX

28 June 2023

28 June 2023

Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Pompeii have uncovered a gorgeous still-life fresco depicting a platter covered in food and...

2,000-year-old Monumental Tomb of Roman Elite discovered in Apollon Smintheus sanctuary in Türkiye

2 January 2024

2 January 2024

A 2,000-year-old monumental tomb from the Roman era has been unearthed at the Apollon Smintheus Sanctuary in the village of...

Archaeological excavations unearthed the first great Iberian city in Contestania and the oldest one

11 May 2024

11 May 2024

Archaeologists from the University of Alicante and the University of Murcia “Damas y Héroes. In the project “Tras la Ilici...

From Tengri to Teshub: Sacred Yada Stone and Elemental Power in Ancient Anatolia

19 May 2025

19 May 2025

From the windswept steppes of Central Asia to the sacred temples of Anatolia, ancient civilizations shared a powerful belief: that...

5,200-year-old stone carving silkworm chrysalis discovered in north China

19 July 2022

19 July 2022

According to the provincial archaeological research institute, archaeologists discovered a stone-carved silkworm chrysalis dating back at least 5,200 years in...

Rare Astrolabe Discovered in Verona Sheds Light On Islamic, Jewish, and Christian Scientific Exchange

6 March 2024

6 March 2024

An eleventh-century rare astrolabe bearing Arabic and Hebrew inscriptions was recently discovered in a museum in Verona, Italy. It dates...

Archaeologists have unearthed a stone chest containing the ritual deposit of 15 anthropomorphic figurines

1 September 2023

1 September 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed a stone chest containing the ritual deposit of 15 anthropomorphic figurines that were placed as votive offerings...

Earliest glass workshop north of the Alps unearthed in Němčice

25 July 2023

25 July 2023

Archaeologists excavated the famous Iron Age site Němčice and uncovered the earliest glass workshop north of the Alps. Numerous beautiful...

Earliest Direct Evidence of Psychoactive Plant Use in Iron Age Arabia Identified in Tomb at Qurayyah

25 May 2025

25 May 2025

In a remarkable archaeological breakthrough, scientists have uncovered the earliest known use of the psychoactive plant Peganum harmala—commonly known as...

A Dancing Muses statue 2175 years old was found in the ancient city of Stratonikeia, known as the city of eternal loves

7 December 2023

7 December 2023

The latest discovery in the ongoing excavations in the Ancient City of Stratonikeia, known as the city of eternal loves...

3,000-year-old Bronze Age Hoard Discovered During House Building Project in Scotland

31 July 2024

31 July 2024

Recent laboratory investigations of the Rosemarkie find, unearthed during the Black Isle housing development at Greenside in Rosemarkie, Highland Scotland,...

Archaeologists Discover 40,000-Year-Old Evidence of Neanderthal Habitation in Ghamari Cave, Iran

13 March 2025

13 March 2025

Iranian archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in Ghamari Cave (also known as Qamari Cave), located near Khorramabad in Lorestan...

A new Indo-European Language discovered in the Hittite capital Hattusa

21 September 2023

21 September 2023

The Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism announced in a written statement that a new Indo-European language was discovered...

Archaeologists Uncovered a Unique Ancient Roman Winery with Marble Tiling and Fountains of Grape Juice

17 April 2023

17 April 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered a unique ancient Roman winery at the luxurious Villa of the Quintilii, just to the south of...

1000-year-old Cats and Babies mummies of Turkey’s

30 March 2022

30 March 2022

Cat, baby, and adult mummies in Aksaray, which took its place in history as Cappadocia’s gateway to the west on...