Israel uncovers 1,500-year-old magical bowls with spell scripts

Ancient magical bowls are shown in Jerusalem, on March 7, 2022. Ancient magical bowls, carrying spells and incantations scripts in the Hebrew and Babylonian-Aramaic languages, were uncovered in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said on Monday. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Ancient magical bowls, carrying spells and incantations scripts in the Hebrew and Babylonian-Aramaic languages, were uncovered in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said on Monday.

The bowls, dated to about 1,500 years ago, were seized mong hundreds of ancient finds by the IAA and the Israeli police in a Jerusalem resident's home.

The incantation bowls, known as the "swearing bowls", came from Mesopotamia, now present-day Iraq, and were used as a kind of amulet to fight curses, demons, diseases, and pests.

It was common practice to bury such bowls under the house floor for protection, according to the IAA.

The text was written by artists for a specific client according to their personal needs, it added.

One of the bowls carries a painted figure of the "night demon," representing the individual that the bowl was meant to ward off.

The finds also include 3,000-year-old rare bone and ivory artifacts, decorated in Phoenician style, with Egyptian motifs that included scenes from the animal world, alongside geometric ornaments.

In one of the objects appear two griffons, which are winged lions whose face is human, facing each other, while another artifact has a description of a convoy of four-winged lions marching.

These are decorative items attached to wooden furniture by nails, the IAA explained.

The IAA assessed that the ivory artifacts were excavated illegally in one of the biblical mounds in the Samaria region. 

Photo taken on March 7, 2022 shows an ancient magical bowl in Jerusalem. Ancient magical bowls, carrying spells and incantations scripts in the Hebrew and Babylonian-Aramaic languages, were uncovered in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said on Monday. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Ancient magical bowls are shown in Jerusalem, on March 7, 2022. Ancient magical bowls, carrying spells and incantations scripts in the Hebrew and Babylonian-Aramaic languages, were uncovered in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said on Monday. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Photo taken on March 7, 2022 shows an ancient magical bowl in Jerusalem. Ancient magical bowls, carrying spells and incantations scripts in the Hebrew and Babylonian-Aramaic languages, were uncovered in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said on Monday. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)