An 8-year-old boy from Israel discovered a tiny, rotund porcelain object, which he found out held archaeological importance, while out on a hiking trip with his family.
As it turns out, the figurine Itai Halperin found was a 3,000-year-old ceramic head that represents a fertility goddess, Israeli Antiquities Authorities announced on Wednesday. These heads were mostly located in the Kingdom of Judah homes during the First Temple era, according to The Times of Israel.
"Figurines such as these, in the shape of naked women representing fertility, were common in the homes of the residents of the Judean Kingdom in the 8th century BCE and until the destruction of the kingdom by the Babylonians in the days of Zedekiah (in 586 BCE)," said Alon De Groot, the authority's Iron Age specialist.
"It's no coincidence that a statuette like this was found atop Tel Beit Shemesh next to a residential quarter from the First Temple period. Beit Shemesh is mentioned as a city in the area of the Tribe of Judah," Anna Eirich of the Antiquities Authority added in a statement, according to The Blaze.
The young boy was presented with a certificate of honor for discovering the ancient artifact, which he picked up as he went hiking with his family last week, The Jerusalem Post reported.
