(Photo By: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)
By: TOI Staff - October 21, 2021
An amethyst seal engraved with what is thought to be the earliest depiction of a plant used for incense in the Second Temple — and for perfume by Cleopatra — has been found in Jerusalem.
The 2,000-year-old amethyst seal, which was designed to be worn as a ring, has an engraving of a bird next to a branch of what appears to be the expensive biblical persimmon used to make the fragrance.
The seal — depicting the plant known variously as biblical persimmon, bosem or balsam, or even the Balm of Gilead — was discovered at the Foundation Stones of the Western Wall, according to a statement released Thursday.
Read More: Times of Israel