Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Look down when you're walking around!

I was at the diner one day for breakfast when I found a really wonderful omelet, and then Ziv Nitzan outdid me while on a nature walk with her folks.

Ziv lives in central Israel. She's three, and that means she does what three-year-olds do on walks - she picked up just about everything the ground had to share with her delighted eyes.  She found a little stone, rounded, just about the size of her little palm. She dusted it off and asked her mom what those little markings were on the rock.

I'm glad (and so are many others!) that the family didn't just toss the stone down, because it turned out to be, not an omelet, but an amulet, 3,800 years old. It dates back to the Middle Bronze Age (2100 to 1600 B.C.E., according to the Israel Antiquities Authority.)


These little stone objects were designed in the shape of dung beetles, or scarabs. Scarabs were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt because they symbolized new life.

That was in the old days in Egypt, but these are the new days, and Ziv's folks knew what to do with the stone. They let Google Lens take a look at it, and then they were off to the Antiquities Authority the next day to share their child's find.

Ziv was awarded a certificate of appreciation for good citizenship, and the amulet is on display now through Passover.

My omelet is long gone, but it deserved a special certificate, too! 



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