Interesting news - find in Israel

Discuss the culture of Alexander's world and his image in art

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Fiona
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Interesting news - find in Israel

Post by Fiona »

A new find was described on an Israeli news website:
"Unprecedented Miniature Carving of Alexander the Great Found

by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
(IsraelNN.com) Excavations in Tel Dor have turned up a rare and unexpected work of Hellenistic art: a precious stone bearing the miniature carved likeness of Alexander the Great. Archaeologists are calling it an important find, indicating the great skill of the artist.
The Tel Dor dig, under the guidance and direction of Dr. Ayelet Gilboa of Haifa University and Dr. Ilan Sharon of Jerusalem's Hebrew University, has just ended its summer excavation season. For more than 30 years, scientists have been excavating in Tel Dor, identified as the site of the Biblical town of Dor. The town's location, on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast some 30 kilometers south of Haifa, made it an important international port in ancient times. "

You can see the whole article and a photo here:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/133097

Fiona
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Re: Interesting news - find in Israel

Post by athenas owl »

Fiona, thanks for this...

For some reason the photo didn't load for me, but the article did.

Over at Rogueclassicism, there is also a photo.

http://rogueclassicism.com/2009/08/26/a ... -gemstone/

Amazing, and so tiny. And as was pointed out, AtG is not shown with the ram's horns. Does this exquisite little gem predate the visit to Siwah? It's lovely, no matter who the person on it would have been.
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Theseus
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Re: Interesting news - find in Israel

Post by Theseus »

A very interesting article Fiona! How exciting when something related to Alexander is found! I hope there are more finds like this in the near future.
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dean
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Re: Interesting news - find in Israel

Post by dean »

Hi Fiona,

thanks for posting this up.

This is interesting.

I mean, I can't say that I remember having read that Alexander passed through the town of Dor but on the other hand, I guess if we were to write up a comprehensive list of towns he visited, it would require several pages of text- amazing, given terrain, means of transport, existing weather conditions.

Best regards,
Dean
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Re: Interesting news - find in Israel

Post by athenas owl »

dean, though it isn't mentioned in the sources, I think it might be a given, if you look at a map of the region, it's the first "big" city after crossing Mt. Carmel...and if memory serves it had a large Greek influence centuries before Alexander, a mercantile city for them...being a port, I can not imagine he would have avoided it...securing a port at that time would be an imperative, I'd think. Though I suppose he could have moved inland after Tyre but if you look at a topographical map of the region you'll see a range that would not be convenient for the army to criss cross if Alexander's plan was to secure the coast and gobble up Egypt.

I am happy to be corrected if I got something wrong here.
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