Magic bowls and ivory plaques seized in Jerusalem

APPREHENDED: IAA uncovers ancient magical bowls in home of Jerusalem resident. 1,500-year-old "incantation bowls" were among hundreds of antiquities found, believed to be intended for the illegal antiquities trade (JUDITH SUDILOVSKY, Jerusalem Post).

The incantation bowls will have come from Iraq. If you want to see some more of them, go here. And for many PaleoJudaica posts on such bowls, run "Aramaic incantation bowls" through the blog search engine.

Reportedly the IAA thinks that the decorated ivory objects come from the north, perhaps Samaria. Other similar object have been found there. The IAA would know better than I. Decorated ivory plaques have been found in Samaria, Syria, and Iraq.

UPDATE (9 March): More here, and note the update.

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