The mirror itself is missing, but archaeologists believe that what emerged from the Israel Antiquities Authority dig may be a 1,500-year-old “mirror plaque” demon repellent dating to the late Roman or Byzantine period (from the fourth to the sixth century), the IAA announced on Thursday.Theoretically, it could alternatively have served in catoptromancy – the Roman art of divination using mirrors – or had some other use. But use of mirrors to ward off demonic spirits was a practice in more than one religious circle in antiquity.
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