A Magical Ring from the Environs of Legio and Kefar-'Othnay, Israel
An intact magical silver ring set with a green chalcedony magical gem was discovered near present-day Megiddo prison. The ring has a tubular hoop and a low box-bezel. It's metal is engraved on all sides with symbols and charaktères and perhaps some letters. On the ring's round, flat base a...
| Authors: | ; ; ; |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Studium Biblicum Franciscanum
[2020]
|
| In: |
Liber annuus
Year: 2020, Volume: 70, Pages: 385-403 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Silver jewelry
/ Gem
/ Divinity
/ Prison
/ Megiddo
|
| IxTheo Classification: | HH Archaeology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | An intact magical silver ring set with a green chalcedony magical gem was discovered near present-day Megiddo prison. The ring has a tubular hoop and a low box-bezel. It's metal is engraved on all sides with symbols and charaktères and perhaps some letters. On the ring's round, flat base appears a swastika within a square. A standing male-deity holding an upright snake is engraved on the gem, surrounded by further charactères and a magical name. The ring is of a known type. It dates from the later 3rd to the early 4th century. The precise name and identity of its standing deity are unknown. Our study has shown that a number of powerful syncretized deities are embedded it this figure; that the snake held by its god is the Chnoubis snake; and that the ring plus its gem were created to function as a powerful, protective, beneficial, theraputic item. Every aspect of this ring was calculated to enforce and strengthen the ring’s medical-magical function and aim. Together with an earlier one found of a silver magical ring in the site of Kefar-ʻOthnay with a depiction of the Anguipede on its gem, these two rings show that among the population and soldiers of the VI Ferrata legionary base and the nearby village of Kefar-'Othnay were believers in the authority of magi and the power of healing and overall help and protection against evil powers and maladies embedded in magical gems and rings. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0081-8933 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (Jerusalem), Liber annuus
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1484/J.LA.5.125232 |