3-year-old discovers ancient 3,800-year-old treasure during family outing in Israel

She could have picked up any old stone from the thousands in the ruins of Tel Azeka, an ancient town in Israel. Instead 3-year-old Ziv Nitzan pulled out 3.800-year-old treasure from the Middle Bronze age.

“When she rubbed it and removed the sand from it, we saw something was different about it,” Ziv’s sister, Omer said in a Facebook post released Tuesday by Israel’s Antiquities Authority. “I called my parents to come see the beautiful stone, and we realized we had discovered an archaeological find.”

Experts later identified it as a Canaanite seal or scarab.

“Scarabs were used in this period as seals and as amulets. They were found in graves, in public buildings and in private homes. Sometimes they bear symbols and messages, that reflect religious beliefs or status,” Daphna Ben-Tor, an Egyptologist said in the Facebook post.

Originating from ancient Egypt, scarabs were commonly used as seals and as amulets and were designed in the shape of a dung beetles. “This beetle, considered sacred in the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, was a symbol of new life, because of the dung ball it created and then laid its eggs into it, from which new life would hatch,” the Facebook post said.

Often they carried messages, reflecting religious beliefs.

Nitzan’s find is one a number of artefacts found across Israel indicating ancient Egyptian presence in the country.

She picked it up at the base of a key archaeological site in central Israel. Situated 25 miles west of Jerusalem, the village of Tel Azekah, which is referenced in the Bible as the site of the infamous battle between David and Goliath.

Omer said that after her sister found the scarab on a family outing last month, they immediately called their parents who “realized we had discovered an archaeological find.” The family then reported it to Israel’s Antiquities Authority.

The discovery “connects us to a grand story, that of the ancient civilizations that lived in this land thousands of years ago,” Israeli Minister of Heritage, Amichai Eliyahu was quoted as saying in the Facebook post.

“The scarab Ziv found also reminds us that in the Land of Israel, even children can be a part of discovering history,” Eliyahu said.

Eli Escusido, the director of the antiquities authority also praised the family for their discovery and said the seal will be displayed in a special exhibition, which will also include other Egyptian finds across the country.