A stone seal believed to have been used by a high-ranking administrative official during the time of the Kingdom of Judah in the late 8th century BC was discovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) during excavations in northern Israel.
The dig was led by archaeologists Dr. Amir Gorzalczany and Gerald Finklestein. The IAA shared the find in a Wednesday post to social media, adding that the excavations had taken place as part of the construction of the Ein Tut Interchange.
The seal, made of a light brown gemstone, is thought by archaeologists to have been “hung like a necklace around its owner’s neck” and is decoratively divided into three parts.
Four pomegranates are carved into the upper section of the seal, while the other two sections contain an ancient Hebrew inscription reading: “Belonging to Makhach (son of) Amihai,” the IAA explained.
“The importance of the seal derives both from its contribution to the treasury of biblical names, and from the fact that, unlike most seals of its type, this seal's origin is from an organized archaeological excavation and not from antiquities collectors,” the late archaeologist David Amit had said of the discovery.
Amit deciphered the inscription alongside Dr. Esther Eshel of Bar-Ilan University.
Other artifacts with royal seal also found at site
Pieces of jar handles bearing royal seals were also found at the site, impressed with the words “Belonging to the King” and the names of Hebron and the ancient city Ziph, two important administrative cities at the end of the First Temple period.
"Such seal impressions are a common find at biblical sites in the Judah region,” Gorzalczany said of the findings. “However, their presence at a site so northern, deep within the territories of the biblical Kingdom of Israel, is most surprising.”