A magical mirror, that was used 1,500 years ago to protect the owner against the "evil eye," has been discovered in Israel.
Aviv Weizman, 17, uncovered the mysterious object during an excavation with 500 other students, the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a statement.
The high-school student had been taking part in a survival course—a trek between Mount Meron to Mount Hermon—when they stopped to excavate an area in Usha, near Kiryat Ata, a city in Israel's Haifa District.
Weizman noticed the unusual shard of pottery peeking out from the ground between walls of a nearby building. She excavated the find and handed it over to Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority Northern Education Center, Dr. Einat Ambar-Armon, who took a closer look.
Turns out the 1,500 year old piece of pottery was an extraordinary find indeed.
"The fragment is part of a 'magical mirror' from the Byzantine period, the 4th–6th centuries CE," Navit Popovitch, a curator for the classical periods at the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in the press release.
"A glass mirror, for protection against the Evil Eye was placed in the middle of the plaque: the idea was that the evil spirit, such as a demon, who looked in the mirror, would see his own reflection, and this would protect the owner of the mirror. Similar mirror plaques have been found in the past as funerary gifts in tombs, to protect the deceased in their journey to the world to come."
The Byzantine period marks a time when the Roman Empire continued across the East after it fell in the West. It continued to exist in the East until the empire's capital, Constantinople, fell in 1453.
The magical mirror allows archaeologists to gain more insight into this period.
"This find embellishes the two-way contribution of the cooperation between the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Ministry of Education Shelah Project: at the same time, uncovering the country's past, and also providing the youth with a personal empowering experience, connecting them to their roots," Saar Ganor, coordinator of the project on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said.
The mirror wasn't the only find during this excavation.
During the trek, students also found pottery jars, coins, decorated stone fragments and an aqueduct, Eli Escusido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said.
"History, usually taught in the classroom, comes to life from the ground. A pupil who uncovers a find during an excavation will never forget the experience. There is no better way to attach the youth to the country and the heritage," Escusido said.
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