While preparing for their unit’s entry to the Gaza Strip yesterday, two Israeli reservists discovered a small clay oil lamp, which they quickly reported to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Gavriel Fiske writes:
The soldiers, members of a reserve unit of the 282nd Artillery Regiment, found the ancient lamp intact in a staging area inside Israeli territory along the Gaza border. “I came across pottery lying upside-down and was attracted by its round shape. It was covered in mud,” said Netanel Melchior, one of the soldiers.
The soldiers passed the artifact to Sarah Tal, the IAA archaeologist in charge of the Western Negev region. They received a good-citizenship certificate from the IAA for turning over the find.
Small ceramic lamps of this type, also called “sandal candles,” were filled with oil and used for indoor lighting in the region since “ancient times,” Tal said. This particular candle was identified as being from the Byzantine period and likely from the 5th or 6th century CE.
Read more on Times of Israel: https://www.timesofisrael.com/troops-mustering-near-gaza-border-turn-up-tiny-byzantine-era-lamp/