From The Times of Israel:
A three-year-old Israeli girl has found a scarab-shaped Canaanite amulet dating back some 3,800 years at the site of Tel Azeka near Bet Shemesh, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Tuesday.
Ziv Nitzan, from Moshav Ramot Meir, was hiking with her parents and two older sisters at the foot of the hill where the archaeological site stands when she picked up what appeared to be a small stone.
“We were walking along the path, and then Ziv bent down – and out of all the stones around her, she picked up this particular stone,” Omer Nitzan, Ziv’s sister, said in a statement sent out by the IAA. “When she rubbed it and removed the sand from it, we saw something was different about it. I called my parents to come see the beautiful stone, and we realized we had discovered an archaeological find! We immediately reported this to the Israel Antiquities Authority.”
Scarab amulets trace their origins to ancient Egypt, where beetles were revered as sacred symbols of renewal. Egyptians believed these insects embodied new life, as they laid their eggs inside the dung balls they rolled — seemingly bringing life from decay.
“Scarabs were used in this period as seals and as amulets,” Dr. Daphna Ben-Tor, an expert in the field, said in a statement. “They were found in graves, in public buildings, and in private homes. Sometimes they bear symbols and messages that reflect religious beliefs or status.” (Read more.)
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