Just about every stone turned in Israel leads archaeologists on an adventure back through time to find out the origins of an unearthed artifact and what it was used for.
Six months ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority was presented with amysterious gilded object from an Old Jerusalem cemetery and they had absolutely no idea what it was.
Archaeologists and historians looking into this strange golden scepter couldn’t date it.
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And then someone at the authority decided to post a photo of the spiral object on Facebook and ask for help. It took a few hours for the riddle to be solved.
“Congratulations to Micah Barak of Italy and to all those who took part in helping to solve the mystery of the object from the Jerusalem cemetery, ” the Israel Antiquities Authority posted on its Facebook site.
“Several hours after the story’s publication, Micah Barak identified the object as a device that is supposed to provide ‘energetic protection’ and is designed for use by naturopaths and those involved in New Age energy healing. The object, manufactured by a German company, is called an Isis Beamer, named after the Egyptian goddess Isis, who according to Egyptian mythology was the goddess of healing, magic and nature.”
The authority said hundreds of responses poured in. Talkbacks also suggested the item could be a cattle insemination instrument, an implement for rolling dough, a piece of industrial machinery, a massager or a cultic object used in the Temple.
And while the mysterious object has been identified, the Israel Antiquities Authority is still stumped as to why it was buried in the old cemetery. They posted another Facebook message to find the answer:
“We hope that those responsible for hiding the object in the cemetery will contact us, tell us why it was buried in the ancient structure and to whom amongst the dead and buried they wanted to give positive energy.”
