What looked like a striped stone in an 8-year-old boy’s hand has turned out to be a 1,700-year-old fragment of a statuette found at Israel’s Ramon Crater.
Dor Wolynitz found the object on May 11 while visiting the crater with his father, The Economic Times reported. Experts later identified it as part of a statuette, likely depicting a Roman or Nabataean deity, along the ancient Spice Route that linked the Arabian Peninsula with the Mediterranean.
According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, the fragment measures a little over 2 by 2 inches and preserves part of a human figure draped in carved robes. Archaeologists said the garment is a himation, a cloak commonly shown in Greek and Roman art, and said the workmanship points to a highly skilled artist.
The piece was handed to Akiva Goldenhersh, an IAA archaeologist overseeing its Theft Prevention Unit, who was on the same trip. After further examination, IAA geologist Dr Nimrod Wieler confirmed the object was carved from phosphorite, a mineral found in the Negev, which indicates it was likely made locally rather than imported.
Researchers do not yet know exactly who the figure represents. Goldenhersh said the leading possibilities are Jupiter or Zeus-Dushara, a deity associated with the Nabataeans.
Ramon Crater lies along the ancient Spice Route, which carried incense, spices and other goods through the Negev during the Nabataean and Roman periods. Studies of the route have shown it functioned as an exchange network, with goods moving in multiple directions and cultures influencing one another.
Dor later turned the fragment over to the IAA’s National Treasures Department and received an official certificate of good citizenship.
Goldenhersh said the fragment “reflects the combination of local traditions with influences from the classical world. … Every archaeological find is part of our common heritage in this land.”
Israel’s heritage minister, Amichai Eliyahu, called the discovery “a reminder of how much history is right under our feet.”
