Teenager discovers 1800-year-old ring with inscription of Athena in Israel

As I walked through the Monte Carmelo In northern Israel, a 13-year-old teenager found an ancient ring engraved with the image of Athena, the Greek goddess of war. 

The young man Yair Whiteson He was walking with his father near the Khirbet Shalala archaeological site when he chanced upon the ring, thanks in part to his interest in fossils and rocks. While he first believed he had found a rusty object, he later realized it was a ring, and contacted Nir Distelfeld, inspector of the IAA Theft Prevention Unit, who quickly arranged for the object to be removed. transferred to the Department of National Treasures. 

The bronze ring dates to the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, during the late Roman period, and could have belonged to a woman. The antiquity will be displayed this July at the National Campus for Israel Archeology in Jerusalem.

Distelfeld, of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), together with Eitan Klein, explained that the ring “beautifully preserved, contains the image of a helmeted naked figure holding a shield in one hand and a spear in the other.” .

In addition, they added that “it is likely that this is the goddess Minerva from Roman mythology, known as Athena in Greek mythology. This goddess, popular during the Roman period in the Land of Israel, was considered the goddess of war and military strategy, as well as wisdom.