A rare 9,000-year-old stone mask from the Neolithic period has been unveiled by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. This remarkable artifact was recovered by the Anti-Robbery Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and subsequently transferred to the Archaeology Department of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria for detailed study.
The item was originally discovered in Hebron on the West Bank by looters. It comes from a crucial period in the history of humanity – the transition from a nomadic hunter-gathering existence to a settled society based on agriculture.
The recovery of the mask was thanks to the tenacious efforts of the IAA’s Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit. This is a specialist unit dedicated to the prevention of the looting of archaeological sites and the recovery of stolen antiquities. It received information that a rare stone mask had been illegally excavated in early 2018. Following up on the tip off, the unit soon recovered the mask from the thieves.
According to the Times of Israel at the time, the investigation indicated that “the probable archaeological site in which the mask was originally found, is in the Pnei Hever region of southern Har Hevron” in the Hebron Hills, not far from the Judean desert.
The mask is made from limestone and it was smoothed and shaped with great artistry. It resembles a human face and it has details such as cheekbones and even teeth that make it more life-like. The finish of the mask is very impressive, especially given the fact that it was only made with basic tools, and this demonstrates that the society that produced it had sophisticated craft people. There are four holes bored on the edges of the artifact and these were possibly used to tie it around a person’s head, so it could be worn in a ceremony, or else it was attached to a pole and placed on public display.
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