Rare Bronze Horned-Bracelet, 3,500 Years Old, Found in Israel

ArtDaily ^ | Wednesday, August 4, 2010 | Karen Covello-Paran (I think)

[SunkenCiv]

According to Karen Covello-Paran, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "We discovered a wide rare bracelet made of bronze. The ancient bracelet, which is extraordinarily well preserved, is decorated with engravings and the top of it is adorned with a horned structure. At that time horns were the symbol of the storm-god and they represented power, fertility and law. The person who could afford such a bracelet was apparently very well off financially, and it probably belonged to the village ruler. It is interesting to note that in the artwork of neighboring lands gods and rulers were depicted wearing horned crowns; however, such a bracelet, and from an archaeological excavation at that, has never been found here".

The bracelet was found inside an estate house dating to the Canaanite period (the Late Bronze Age) that was exposed in the excavation, and which was part of an ancient settlement that existed on the southeastern slope of Ramat Razim, in a rocky area that overlooks the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights. The building was made of indigenous limestone and included a paved central courtyard surrounded by rooms that were lived in and used as storerooms. Along with the bracelet, a Canaanite scarab was found that is made of stone and engraved with Egyptian hieroglyphs. In antiquity scarabs were worn as pendants or were inlaid in rings, and they were used as a seal by the people who carried them or as a talisman with magical powers. We also learn from these valuable finds that the residents of the building were also engaged in barter.

[SunkenCiv]

A bronze bracelet discovered in archaeological excavations in Ramat Razim, near Safed in northern Israel. The bracelet from the late Bronze-Age period is about 3,500 years old and is extraordinarilly well preserved, adorned with horns representing power, fertility and the law. The person who could afford such a bracelet was apparently very well off financially, and it probably belonged to the village ruler. EPA/CLARA AMIT.

[SunkenCiv]

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[Tax-chick]

horns representing power, fertility and the law

How do they know? We have penguin bric-a-brac at my house, but it doesn't represent anything.

[null and void]

You aren’t posting from a Linux box are you?

[Tax-chick]

No, we have Windows. (I got the joke, though ... cute!)

[Tax-chick]

We also learn from these valuable finds that the residents of the building were also engaged in barter.

How do we know they didn't use currency?

[csvset]

horns representing power, fertility and the law

I say it's a dog collar.

[dog breath]

Interesting, thank you for posting it. High end jewelry is always cool even after sitting in the dirt for thousands of years.

[Red_Devil 232]

It is a bronze wrist knuckles. You know how the wealthy loved to slap the low lifes around.

[fish hawk]

This is just my humble opinion but the thing in the center looks a lot like the Jewish Brazen Alter and the things on the sides could be Noah's ark??? I looked up the Brazen Alter just now and it looks pretty much like that center decoration.

[SunkenCiv]

This wasn’t really a bracelet, it was a ring for one of the OT giants. Probably wore four of them and used them analogously to brass knuckles. :’)

[muawiyah]

Alas, the "penguin motif" is indicative of acute touristitis suckeritis

[SunkenCiv]

Figures that a currency question would come from the Tax-chick. ;’)

Coin was not invented until the Lydians did it circa a thousand years after this bracelet went into the soil.

[SunkenCiv]

Think about it — aren’t there *millions* of penguins? It’s your danged bric-a-brac that has caused this. Hope you’re proud of yourself. ;’)

[muawiyah]

Wampum had not yet been discovered. That would take another 3100 years when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth!

[ikka]

Because the Canaanites were all tax-dodgers ... sheesh, don’t you know your ancient history?

[bert]

Horned ....possibly.

There are two other sculpted structures on both sides. If you add the sides you get the middle.

The center depicts the melding of what ever the sides represent.

I’ll go along with nothing but an artist’s carving of pleasing and easy to carve geometric shapes.

[SunkenCiv]

Probably the next discovery at this dig site will be buttless chaps.

[muawiyah]

Wasn’t this a warm period where buttless bathrobes were all the rage anyway?

[Sacajaweau]

It’s Pauley’s of NCIS