Mysterious 2,000-year-old marble dolphin surfaces near Gaza
Archaeologists think 16-inch-high statuette found in southern Israel may have been part of larger sculpture, wonder how it ended up in Byzantine floor
BY ILAN BEN ZION June 25, 2015, 11:28 pm
A statuette of a dolphin found near Kibbutz Magen, near the Gaza Strip. (Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority)
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Ilan Ben ZionIlan Ben Zion is a news editor at The Times of Israel. He holds a Masters degree in Diplomacy from …[More]
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You would think that 12 miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea is the last place to find a dolphin clutching a fish between its jaws.
Hewn from marble, the 2,000-or-so-year-old statuette surfaced during archaeological excavations near Kibbutz Magen, bordering the Gaza Strip, in March of this year.
The discovery of the dolphin statue amid the ruins of a late Byzantine and early Islamic site in the northern Negev was only announced this week by Israel’s Antiquities Authority.
Alexander Fraiberg, head archaeologist with the IAA team, said he believes the sculpture dates to the Roman era, but was incorporated into a later, Byzantine-era paved floor alongside other spolia.
“It’s interesting because the statuette was lying face down, so it was impossible to see its appearance,” he said.
A statuette of a dolphin found near Kibbutz Magen, near the Gaza Strip. (Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority)
Standing about 16 inches high, experts believe the dolphin may have been part of a larger sculpture, possibly a life-size statue of a god or goddess.
“It’s possible that the [full] statue was of the [Greek] goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, who was born from seafoam,” Dr. Rina Avner, an IAA archaeologist specializing in the Roman and Byzantine periods, said.
Statues of Aphrodite, such as the Aphrodite Pudica with Eros Astride a Dolphin at the Dayton Art Institute, depict her alongside a cetacean, symbolizing her origins.
“It’s also possible that the statue was of Poseidon, god of the sea,” who was typically depicted along with dolphins in Classical iconography, Avner added.
[Här följer Googlekartan som syns på originalartikeln.]
[Tyvärr blev Googlekartan upphackad vid kopieringsförsöket - se originalartikeln.]
Both Aphrodite and Poseidon appear on contemporary coins from the nearby ancient port city of Ashkelon, which was also home to a major temple to the goddess of love.
“The mystery,” said Fraiberg, “is where the statue came from, who destroyed it, when, and under what circumstances, and who brought the piece with the dolphin to the site.”
A statuette of a dolphin found near Kibbutz Magen, near the Gaza Strip. (Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority)
BY ILAN BEN ZION June 25, 2015, 11:28 pm
A statuette of a dolphin found near Kibbutz Magen, near the Gaza Strip. (Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority)
WRITER
Ilan Ben ZionIlan Ben Zion is a news editor at The Times of Israel. He holds a Masters degree in Diplomacy from …[More]
Follow or contact:
RSS
RELATED TOPICS
ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL
ARCHAEOLOGY
ROMAN EMPIRE
On Galilee’s shore, Israel weighs restoring splendor of early Islam
WATCH: Nasa shows awesome HD pictures of the Sun
Pacemakers could be passé with new genetic therapy
Google is listening to you, Israeli tech-blogger reveals
You would think that 12 miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea is the last place to find a dolphin clutching a fish between its jaws.
Hewn from marble, the 2,000-or-so-year-old statuette surfaced during archaeological excavations near Kibbutz Magen, bordering the Gaza Strip, in March of this year.
The discovery of the dolphin statue amid the ruins of a late Byzantine and early Islamic site in the northern Negev was only announced this week by Israel’s Antiquities Authority.
Alexander Fraiberg, head archaeologist with the IAA team, said he believes the sculpture dates to the Roman era, but was incorporated into a later, Byzantine-era paved floor alongside other spolia.
“It’s interesting because the statuette was lying face down, so it was impossible to see its appearance,” he said.
A statuette of a dolphin found near Kibbutz Magen, near the Gaza Strip. (Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority)
Standing about 16 inches high, experts believe the dolphin may have been part of a larger sculpture, possibly a life-size statue of a god or goddess.
“It’s possible that the [full] statue was of the [Greek] goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, who was born from seafoam,” Dr. Rina Avner, an IAA archaeologist specializing in the Roman and Byzantine periods, said.
Statues of Aphrodite, such as the Aphrodite Pudica with Eros Astride a Dolphin at the Dayton Art Institute, depict her alongside a cetacean, symbolizing her origins.
“It’s also possible that the statue was of Poseidon, god of the sea,” who was typically depicted along with dolphins in Classical iconography, Avner added.
[Här följer Googlekartan som syns på originalartikeln.]
[Tyvärr blev Googlekartan upphackad vid kopieringsförsöket - se originalartikeln.]
Both Aphrodite and Poseidon appear on contemporary coins from the nearby ancient port city of Ashkelon, which was also home to a major temple to the goddess of love.
“The mystery,” said Fraiberg, “is where the statue came from, who destroyed it, when, and under what circumstances, and who brought the piece with the dolphin to the site.”
A statuette of a dolphin found near Kibbutz Magen, near the Gaza Strip. (Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority)
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