The oldest known crown in the world, which was famously discovered in 1961 as part of the Nahal Mishmar Hoard, along with numerous other treasured artifacts, dates back to the Copper Age between 4000–3500 B.C.The crown looks like a more modest version of Sauron's crown, which makes me want to search more carefully among the hoard for any rings.
It was revealed in New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World as part of the “Masters of Fire: Copper Age Art from Israel” exhibit earlier this year.
The ancient crown is just one out of more than 400 artifacts that were recovered in a cave in the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea more than half a century ago. The crown is shaped like a thick ring and features vultures and doors protruding from the top. It is believed that it played a part in burial ceremonies for people of importance at the time.
New York University wrote: “An object of enormous power and prestige, the blackened, raggedly cast copper crown from the Nahal Mishmar Hoard greets the visitor to Masters of Fire. The enigmatic protuberances along its rim of vultures and building façades with squarish apertures, and its cylindrical shape, suggest links to the burial practices of the time.”
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Seriously, the Nahal Mishmar hoard is outside the normal time frame of PaleoJudaica, but the artifacts are so cool and are mentioned so infrequently that I can't help noting the stories when I find one. The last time was back in 2007.