No open-access location is known for this record yet.
No open-access location is known for this record yet.
A circular oil lamp 22 cm in diameter with seven nozzles was archaeometrically studied to verify its authenticity. It is made of silica-enriched limestone of the Early Senonian sequence exposed in the Jerusalem area. Traditional Jewish decorations are carved in the upper part of the lamp: a seven-branched menorah (candelabrum), wheat ear, a basket with figs, pomegranates, date palm tree, grape leaf and grapes, olive branches and barley ear. This oil lamp is the product of the Jewish limestone industry that flourished during the late Second Temple Period in Jerusalem (first century CE), related to religious purity laws. The prevalence of malleable silicified limestone in the Jerusalem environs and sophisticated processing techniques such as use of a lathe facilitated the production of this stone oil lamp. The distribution of the chemical elements of the patina is identically to the stone. The multi-layered patina attached firmly to the lamp‘s outer and inner surface and the microcolonial fungi structures and their minerals are indicative of natural long-term development in a ground burial setting. Soot was found embedded within the multi-layered patina reinforcing its authenticity.
Loading…
Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.