BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Roman Warrior Goddess on Mount Carmel

Teen spots 1,800-year-old ring while on a hike

A bronze ring depicting a Roman warrior goddess. Courtesy Emil Aladjem, IAA.

While hiking on Mt. Carmel outside of Haifa, a young teenager spotted an object on the ground that he originally took to be a rusty old bolt. Upon closer inspection, however, he was shocked to find a 1,800-year-old ring depicting the Roman warrior goddess Minerva.

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A Roman Ring

Once he knew what he had found, 13-year-old Yair Whiteson turned it over to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). According to IAA experts, the bronze ring likely dates to the second or third century, when the region was under Roman control. Based on its size, the ring likely belonged to a woman or girl who lived at the nearby site of Khirbet Shalala, which was a small farmstead at the time. It also could have come from a nearby rock quarry, dated to around the same time, or one of the Roman-period tombs from the quarry’s edge.

“On this beautiful ring, preserved in its entirety,” said Nir Distelfeld and Eitan Klein of the IAA, “is the image of a helmeted naked figure. In one hand she holds a shield, and a spear in the other. The figure is the goddess Minerva from Roman mythology, known also as Athena in Greek mythology. This goddess, who was very popular during the Roman period in the Land of Israel, was considered, among other things, as the goddess of war and military strategy, and also as the goddess of wisdom.”

Yair Whiteson and Eitan Klein of the IAA examining the ring in the lab. Courtesy Emil Aladjem, IAA.

Discussing how he found the ring, Yair explained: “I am curious about fossils and rocks and love to collect them. While hiking I noticed a small green item and picked it up. It was corroded, and at first, I thought it was just a rusty bolt. I thought about heating it, but then fortunately I understood it was a ring. At home, I saw it had an image on it. At first glance, I thought it was a warrior.”

This article was first published in Bible History Daily on July 19, 2024.

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