Medallions and Pendants
Singular examples of pendants and medallions made out of various materials, such as bronze, gold and even lead.
Gold anthropomorphic pendants   are the earliest in the chronological list of the items, as well as the gold pendant in the shape of a pomegranate . Finally, a medallion that depicts St. George fighting snakes  is the last item in the series, dating III century AD.

A very distinctive because of its artistic properties, the gold medallion   was purchased in Paris and depicts Emperor Titus’s daughter (according to its inscription).

Again, the following artistic and stylistic movements can be traced among the items   early Eastern , Hellenistic-Roman ,Christian

The early Eastern tradition is represented by three items. Let us first look at anthropomorphic pendants Gold figurine from the Canaanite sanctuary in the El-Hamah district near the junction of rivers Jordan and Jarmouk. Height 4.8, weight – 10.9.A miniature figurine of a goddess, one of its arms is stretched out to the left, the other one rests on the right hip, feet and breasts are extremely small. The hanging (fastening) hoop is broken.

Similar bronze items dating XVII century BC are discussed in the Celil’s Roth’s work “Jewish art,” Tel-Aviv, 1961: “This human type recalls the fine silver statuettes plated with gold found at Ras Shamra. The other instance is the find from Naharia.” The given pendant is similar to the bronze statuette of a goddess (XII BC) from the Museum in Nicosia (L’dossiers de l’archeologie, janvier , 1980,#40, p.51) or to a miniature pendant. We suggest that a female figure portrayed on the pendant is the mother goddess.

Another miniature pendant, was found in Jordan Valley. Height 38 mm, weight 0.45.

This statuette is more schematic; its height and weight suggest that the ornament was made specifically for a burial. The figurine resembles a mummy. Interestingly, it was found with a gold miniature hatchet, perhaps symbolizing the deceased’s profession .

Another example of the Early Eastern tradition is a pomegranate pendant, the popularity and symbolism in the Israeli art we have discussed earlier (see Romanoff. P., “Jewish symbols on ancient Jewish coins,” Pomegranate chapter).
Similar items are found among jewelry of Rodos (see P.Romanoff “Jewish symbols on ancient Jewish coins”).
 Gold. Head of a ram. VI century BC (?) – IV century BC. Height 0.8.

A miniature head of a ram was clearly designed as a closure for a bracelet or a torque, similar to lion protomai on the gold chain from Tarente (see L’dossiers de l’archeologie #40, 1980, p.24). Analogous items were also found among the find of the Oxum treasure (see Dalton Treasure of Oxus, London, 1964). Dating the item back to IV century BC is proven by a similar example of Greek jewelry of Taman (see A.Greifenhagen.Schmuck der alten welt,Berlin, 1974, p.32).

As noted by Renata Rosenthal, craftsmen received orders to imitate the jewelry made in the Achaemenid court; one of the traditions was to decorate the items with heads of animals: “just as the Canaanites imitated Egyptian fashion in the Late Bronze Age. People now copied the “palace style” of Achaemenid Empire. A characteristic element of this style is the use of animal heads as decoration. The pieces of jewelry found in Israel consist mostly of earrings and anklets” (Jewelry in Ancient Time, N.Y. 1975). Among the jewelry found in Israel, we see earrings and bracelets made in this style. Our catalog already includes earrings of that type. Rosenthal mentions Ashdod finds (see Jewelry in Ancient Time, p. 59-60).

Jewelry items made in this style can be found in Cyprus museums, in collections dated the same period. Since the Persian Empire included Persia proper, Phoenicia, Palestine, Cyprus, Greece, Etruria and South Italy, such culture expansion was fairly possible as well. 

Popularity of a ram’s image was already considered in our work. First, it is symbol of strength, energy, the sun virility. It is fairly widespread in jewelry of the Kushan art (see Tillya-tepe, Leningrad, 1985).

The Hellenistic-Roman period is represented in the Hecht collection by a medallion with an inscription.
 Gold. Medallion. Height 1.1. Headof Ivlia Titi, daughter of Emperor Titus. Miniature head is decorated with a headdress and a necklace. Gold sheet, made by stamping.

The so-called Christian style is demonstrated by a pendant-amulet.

Gnostic amulet. Early Gnostics of the first centuries of Christian era attempted to reconcile Christianity with Judaism into one general school of faith. Height-4.5, weight-0.71, III century AD. Jerusalem, bronze. Inscription: IAW CABAWTIX’M. Image: St. George killing a monster, a lion is depicted below. On the reverse, the amulet is decorated with images of birds, scorpion, and snakes. This medallion may carry a Gnostic meaning. In Christian and Muslim myths, George is a warrior and martyr, whose name in folkloric tradition was strongly associated with pagan customs, spring cattle-breeding, agricultural cults, and dragon-slaying. Orthodox Christian hagiography describes St. George as a contemporary of the emperor Diocletian (284-305), native of the Eastern Minor Asia (Kappadoccia) or the neighboring Lebanon-Palestine lands than belonged to local nobility or distinguished military commanders. Persecuted as a Christian, St. George was beheaded, after which he was venerated as a martyr and named the heavenly patron of the Christian army. The spring holiday of St. George was celebrated on April 23 as a seasonal mark of the cattle-breeding calendar. In Turkey, this day marked the ritual of sending Sultan’s horses to pastures. In XIV century, the image of a horseman becomes an emblem of Moscow, and later the city’s national emblem (see Averintzev S.S., George, Mythological Dictionary. M. 1990, p. 145-146). 


Images of birds, scorpions and snakes could signify the power over three worlds – celestial, earthy and underground. According to the Bible, a scorpion represents a whip, the crooked ends of which are similar to a scorpion’s claws, thus symbolizing different acts of persecution, punishments, and penalties, specifically for ideas and moral acts (New dictionary of foreign words, M., 1912, p. 29). A pair of birds could symbolize fertility, prosperity and wealth. According to other interpretations, a bird is a symbol of wisdom and fire. A snake symbolizes female reproductive force, water and rain. At the same time, it is a symbol that protects the dead from the evil spirits. Images of birds, scorpions and snakes could also be interpreted as symbols of the three forces of nature - fire, earth, and water. Analogous items have been found among the Greek and Roman jewelry articles (see Greek and Roman Jewelry, London, 1961). The abstract manner of depicting symbols assumes the amulet was made in the provinces, in an attempt to imitate the items worn by the aristocracy.

Since III AD, when the Sassanian Dynasty began its rule over the East with wide range of socio-cultural influences, the same scene of the Warrior fighting the Serpent or a Lion can be seen in different monuments. It was also present in the Islamic period (see the Gold horseman figurine (Z-548), Eastern Iran from the Hermitage collection, Yuvelirnye izdeliya Vostoka, 1984).  


Length -55.5 cm. Sumer, III mill. BC, 35 beads of lapis lazuli and 36 beads of red agate. 


Lapis lazuli was used in making beads and seals. This beautiful stone was prized by the earliest inhabitants of India, Persia and Mesopotamia (p.317, Amulets and Superstitions). Lapis Lazuli is the stone of heaven, capacity, ability, and divine favor. 

Red agate- “blood agate” -- was known as protection against large spiders and scorpions (p.306, Amulets….- Agate(red)- protection against the bites of snakes and other insects, and against lightning and thunder, calm, peace).Agates are the most ancient stones used for making beads. It is one of most popular stones in the East, just as lapis lazuli.

Number 71 is sacred and is represented as 70 + 1 – number 1 represented god. Moses said, “Hear o, Israel, the Lord our God (is) One”(Deut.vi,4; Mark xii.29).Seventy appears to have been used, like 40, as a round or general number, and many instances of its use can be found in the Bible “after these things the Lord appointed another 70 also (Luke x.1).