Archaeologists Unearth ‘Very Rare’ Bone, Ebony Figures in Graves

Archaeologists working in Israel have unearthed three separate burials, each of which contains “very rare” ebony and bone figurines which depict African natives, according to a new study published in the journal ‘Atiqot.

Related: Archaeologists Make Shocking Discovery in 6th-Century Relic

The figurines were found in graves of two women and a child located within a cemetery near the archaeological site of Tel Malḥata in northeastern Negev. Researchers say the artifacts were likely worn as pendants and most likely depicted the owner’s ancestors. “The figurines show that a Christian community lived in the south of the country about 1,500 years ago, possibly with some of its members coming from Africa,” the researchers noted in a statement released by the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Ongoing excavations have taken place at Tel Malhata since the 1970s, turning up a variety of artifacts which have shown the ancient settlement to be “an important trade crossroads through which passed luxury goods from Arabia and beyond.” During the Roman-Byzantine period, Negev became “a central settlement and an administrative capital.” Researchers believe it was this trade which brought the ebony figurines to the community. The burials dated from the sixth to seventh centuries A.D., several centuries after the Byzantine Empire began trading with Sri Lanka and India.

Related: Human Teeth Evolved From Body Armor of Extinct Species

Two of the three graves held female remains, one aged between 18 to 21 and the other somewhere in her 20s or 30s, while the third grave held a child aged between six and eight. The older woman was buried with a figurine made of bones which showed the “upper part of a female body,” as well as an ebony figurine which “depicts a very detailed face of a female, with typical African features.” The child was also buried with two pendants, one made of ebony and the other of bone. The ebony pendant depicts “a very detailed face and torso of a male figure, with typical African features,” the study explained. “The figurine has long hair, and possibly represents an ancestor of the deceased.”

Due to the similarity in the sizes of the pendants found in the graves of the older woman and child, researchers speculate that they were mother and child. “It is likely that a woman and a child who were buried side-by-side, and in whose graves two of the figurines were discovered, belonged to the same family — and perhaps they were even mother and son,” the researchers explained.

Related: Archaeologists May Have Discovered Ancient Biblical Relic

Archaeologists Unearth ‘Very Rare’ Bone, Ebony Figures in Graves first appeared on Men’s Journal on May 23, 2025