Five tiny figurines—including black wood-carved heads depicting African figures—have been uncovered in Israel’s Negev Desert, offering rare insight into unexpected cultural connections in the region some 1,500 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Wednesday.
The statuettes were discovered in 2017 during an excavation at Tel Malhata in the Arad Valley, in graves belonging to women and children. The findings date to the Byzantine period and suggest trade or cultural ties that extended far beyond the immediate region.
The research, conducted jointly by Israeli and German archaeologists, was recently published in the IAA’s academic journal, ʻAtiqot.
“The figurines indicate that a Christian community lived in the southern region of the country around 1,500 years ago, with some members possibly originating from Africa,” the researchers stated.
The exceptionally well-preserved artifacts were carved from bone and ebony—a rare material sourced from southern India and Sri Lanka—and depict male and female figures with distinct African facial features. Each figurine includes a small hole, suggesting they were worn as pendants or amulets.
“It is possible that the figures represent ancestors, and thus they reflect traditions passed down from generation to generation—even after the adoption of the Christian religion,” they said.
During the Roman-Byzantine period, Tel Malḥata was a key crossroads for trade, frequented by merchants from southern Arabia, India and Africa.
“The unearthing of African figurines in local Christian graves is a rare discovery that enriches our understanding of the cultural diversity among the region’s inhabitants some 1,500 years ago,” the researchers noted.
IAA Director Eli Escusido emphasized the broader significance of the find: “The discoveries at Tel Malhata are moving not only from an archaeological standpoint, but also on a human level. They serve as a powerful reminder that the Land of Israel has always been a crossroads of cultures and peoples—individuals who arrived here, integrated into the local population, yet preserved traditions and beliefs from distant homelands.”
