An amulet that was recently recovered from the site known as Joshua’s Altar on Mt. Ebal appears to contain the Hebrew letter aleph, along with a mark resembling a lotus flower. The amulet, was discovered during the Mt. Ebal Dump Salvage project conducted by Associates for Biblical Research under the direction of Dr. Scott Stripling in December 2019 - January 2020. The project included wet-sifting of the dump material from Adam Zertal’s excavations on Mt. Ebal in the 1980’s. Zertal excavated a rectangular altar, which dated to the 13th century BC, but discovered an earlier, round altar underneath it and at the exact geometric center, which may date to the time of Joshua. This would be consistent with the biblical record, which states, “At that time Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal” (Josh. 8:30). The lead amulet is roughly 2 cm by 2 cm (slightly larger than 3/4" by 3/4") in size and was folded in half, hiding the inscription. In order to avoid destroying it by trying to open it, the amulet was analyzed by a lab in Prague which performed sophisticated photography and the construction of a three-dimensional model of it. Their findings, which are yet to be published, revealed the possible Hebrew letter and the image of the lotus flower, an important symbol in the ancient Near East, particularly in Egypt.
OFF-SITE LINKS:
- https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-694662
VIEW THIS PRESENTATION BY DR. SCOTT STRIPLING, DIRECTOR OF THE MT. EBAL DUMP SALVAGE PROJECT, IN WHICH HE DISCUSSES THE ALTAR ON MT. EBAL AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE LEAD AMULET:
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