Thaindian News

Washington, Sep 22 (IANS) Archaeologists have uncovered a rare gemstone engraved with the portrait of Alexander the Great during excavations at Tel Dor in Israel.
This tiny gem was dug up by a volunteer during excavations by a team from the University of Washington-Seattle.

Jessica Nitschke, professor of classical archaeology at Georgetown University in Washington DC, identified the engraved motif as a bust of Alexander the Great.

“Despite its miniature dimensions — the stone is less than a centimetre high and its width is less than half a centimetre, the engraver was able to depict the bust of Alexander on the gem without omitting any of the ruler’s characteristics,” notes Ayelet Gilboa, professor of archaeology at the University of Haifa.

“The emperor is portrayed as young and forceful, with a strong chin, straight nose and long curly hair held in place by a diadem,” adds Gilboa.

Researchers were surprised to find such a work of art in Israel, on the periphery of the Hellenistic world.

“It is generally assumed that the master artists - such as the one who engraved the image of Alexander on this particular gemstone - were mainly employed by the leading Hellenistic courts in the capital cities, such as those in Alexandria in Egypt and Seleucia in Syria.”

The significance of the discovery at Tel Dor is in the gemstone being uncovered in an orderly excavation, in the proper context of the Hellenistic period.

The origins of most Alexander portraits, scattered across numerous museums around the world, are unknown. Some belonged to collections that existed even prior to the advent of scientific archaeology, others were acquired on the black market, and it is likely that some are even forgeries.