A carving of the Roman goddess Minerva can be seen on the ring.
Yair Whiteson, a 13-year-old from Haifa, Israel, who wants to be a historian, found a ring that is 1,800 years old. His hike took him close to the Khirbet Shalala ancient site on Mount Carmel, where this happened.
The Discovery of the Ring
The ring does have a carving of the Roman goddess Minerva, which is confirmed by experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority. They also showed that it was probably either a personal item or a gift for burial.
The ring is one of many items that have been found in the area. Whiteson was given a certificate at the end to recognize his addition to Israel’s collection of ancient artifacts.
It was by accident that many of the world’s best wonders were found. There are many examples like the French soldiers who found the Rosetta Stone in 1799, the Arab teens who found the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, the farmers who found the amazing Terracotta Army in 1974, and so on.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) revealed today that a 13-year-old boy found a Roman ring with a picture of the goddess Minerva while hiking near his home. This adds a new ancient artifact to this list.
Its history and its past
It was made around the 2nd or 3rd century CE, when Syria was part of the Roman Empire and the Province of Syria Palaestina. It was found in Haifa, a city on the Mediterranean coast an hour’s drive north of Tel Aviv. The ring is 1,800 years old.
Yai Whiteson found the ring when he was hiking and saw a small, green, highly corroded object that at first glance looked like a bolt that had been ignored for a long time.
But when Whiteson looked more closely, he saw what looked like a small figure, maybe a fighter, carved into the object. That is when he knew for sure it was a ring.
Whiteson’s family called the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Theft Prevention Unit and gave the ring to the National Treasures Department.
They did not know what to think about the find. After experts looked at the artifact, they came to a conclusion that was surprisingly close to Whiteson’s.
A naked person with a helmet on their head can be seen on top of the beautiful ring that has been kept in its wholeness. Nir Distelfeld of the IAA said in a news release that she holds a “shield and a spear” in each hand.
“Yair’s guess that the figure is a warrior is very close to the truth.” It looks like the Roman goddess Minerva is the person in the picture. In Greek legend, this goddess is also called Athena.
To whom did the ring belong?
They do not know who owned this ring. According to theories, it probably belonged to a woman or girl who lived in what is now called the Khirbet Shalala historical site.
This site is on a hill in the middle of Mount Carmel and has a Roman-era home and a rock quarry. Another theory is that the ring was given as a kind of burial gift, since there are graves nearby.
The Admirable Act
For Whiteson, the National Archaeology Museum of Israel in Jerusalem gave him a special tour because he had given something of his own free will to that collection. The press said that he also got a seal made from the ring and a certificate “of appreciation for his good citizenship.
” The press release says, “He told us that he wants to be an archaeologist in the future, and we reserve a place of honor for him here.” This is just the start of Yair’s plans to become an archaeologist.