Wood from India, made in Africa: 6th century figurines found in Christian tombs in Israel
Mysterious owners of the artifacts, possibly a mother and child, might have moved to Byzantine village in the Negev from Egypt or the Horn of Africa
Rossella Tercatin is The Times of Israel's archaeology and religions reporter.
Two enigmatic 1,500-year-old human figurines carved in rare ebony wood from India or Sri Lanka and likely made in Africa have been uncovered in the Negev, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday, in conjunction with the publication of an academic paper on the findings in the IAA journal Atiqot.
The artifacts were unearthed in two late 6th/early 7th-century Christian tombs at the Tel Malhata archaeological site (northeastern Negev’s Arad Valley). According to Dr. Noé D. Michael from the IAA and the University of Cologne in Germany, one of the paper’s authors, the finding is unprecedented.
“As far as we know, no such figurine had ever been identified in Israel, Jordan, and our region,” he told The Times of Israel over the phone.
Tel Malhata stands on a strategic location at the crossroads of two prominent ancient roads, one connecting Aila (near the bay of Aqaba, Jordan) with Jerusalem, and the other leading from the port of Gaza to the Dead Sea.
The artifacts were found in two graves next to each other. One contained the remains of a woman between the ages of 20 and 40, and the second was of a child who was six to eight years old.
“We believe that since the tombs were close and presented the same kind of burial gifts, they were probably a mother and a child,” Michael said. “Unfortunately, we could not extract DNA remains from the bones to run a test.”
In addition to the ebony figurines, archaeologists also found three bone figurines.
“Bone figurines are rare but not unique,” Michael noted.
The expert explained that many tombs from that period, especially those of women and children, presented burial gifts such as jewelry, glassware, coins, and other objects.
“It is a well-known phenomenon in tombs from Byzantine times, which was attested in cemeteries also outside of Israel,” he said. “Men were only rarely buried with such gifts.”
Ebony is a high-end type of dark wood used for millennia to make furniture and luxurious items.
“Experts at Tel Aviv University tested the wood and confirmed it came from India or Sri Lanka,” Michael said. “An ebony trade between Asia and Egypt and the Horn of Africa is attested starting from the 4th century CE.”
The researchers believe that the figurines were carved in Africa based on the facial features of the humans they depict.
One of the findings consists of a broken head approximately 1.5 centimeters high (0.6 inch) and less than 1 centimeter wide, portraying a woman. The other presents the head, chest, and upper arms of a man with long hair. Both have a hole that allowed their owners to wear the artifacts as necklaces.
“The figurines present African facial features,” said Michael. “We believe that they depict people rather than gods, and therefore, our hypothesis is that they were ancestors of the deceased.”
While no Christian symbols were found in the tomb, the position of the bodies, which were laid on their back with the heads pointing towards the west, has allowed the researchers to determine that the burials were Christians.
Michael explained that the Horn of Africa was Christianized around the 6th century CE, roughly the same period when the woman and the child died.
“For some reason, possibly related to trade, they probably moved north,” he said.
The cemetery at Tel Malhata was in use between the 3rd and the beginning of the 8th centuries CE. It presents several hundred graves, predominantly Christian but also some pagans from the late Roman period and Muslims from the early Islamic period (7th and 8th centuries CE.) However, no Jewish tombs have been identified. According to Michael, religious affiliation can be determined by both the findings in the grave and the position of the bodies – in the Islamic period, they pointed toward Mecca.
In the Roman Period, Tel Malhata featured a fortified structure that served as either a fortress or an agricultural estate with a protective tower. Briefly abandoned at the beginning of the 3rd century, it was resettled in the late 3rd/early 4th century. According to Michael, during the Byzantine period (324-336 CE), the town had as many as 5,000 residents, making it a significant center in the Negev.
“However, we do not know much about the town, as it has not been properly excavated yet,” he said.
The cemetery is located south of the settlement.
“It was first dug in the 1980s,” Michael said. “So far, archaeologists have excavated some 300 graves.”
The ebony figurines were found during the 2017 excavation season.
While the mystery of the woman and child’s identity will likely never be solved, they were probably not the only nonnative people buried in the cemetery.
“Since Tel Malhata was located on these important trade routes, many people passed through it,” Michael said. “We can see it in the numerous exotic findings we have unearthed, including some rare alabaster jewelry and jars.”
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