Accidental Archeology: A Toddler’s 3,800 Year Old Find

3.5 year old Ziv Nitzan, from Moshav Ramot Meir, may have become Israel’s youngest known archeologist. 

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced that a 3,800-year-old Canaanite scarab amulet was discovered near Beit Shemesh at the Tel Azeka archeological site. 

Her sister Omer describes how out of all the thousands of stones around her, she picked one up, brushed off the sand and instantly noticed something different about it. 

Expert Dr. Daphna Ben-Tor of the Israel Museum, said in the IAA statement that the stone is in fact a scarab seal, dating back to the Middle Bronze Age. She says that during this period scarabs were used as amulets and could be found in graves, public buildings and private homes. Sometimes, Dr. Ben-Tor says, “they bear symbols and messages that reflect religious beliefs or status.” 

Ancient Egyptians also associated the beetle with regeneration. According to The Israel Museum, the rolling of the beetle’s dung symbolized the sun-god rolling the sun-disk, a sign of rebirth. The beetles were also mistakenly believed to spontaneously reproduce, which linked the insects to the god of creation. 

Tel Azekah is a prominent site in both archaeological discoveries and biblical texts. In Samuel 17:1, the Torah references the area around Azekah as the setting for the battle between David and Goliath. The site is also one of the first excavated archaeological sites in Israel. In the late 19th century, British archaeologists discovered evidence of pre-Israelite cultures. Once the project came to a brief end, the site was filled and remained untouched for a millennium. 

However, for the last 15 years Tel Azekah has been an archeological site led by Tel Aviv University Professor Oded Lipschits. Mr. Lipschits explains to The New York Times that the 19th century excavation brought the previously buried soil and its remains to the surface. Children, he adds, are natural archaeologists, unafraid to get their hands dirty and are low to the ground. 

The rare find will join a collection for IAA’s Passover display, prepared at the the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel. The IAA also awarded Ms. Nitzan a certificate of appreciation for good citizenship for reporting the find. Knowing the stone’s existence ensures that the IAA can preserve it and share it with the public.