News about weird and bizarre happenings from around the world.

Tuesday 22 September 2009

Archaeologists stumble on gemstone with Alexander’s portrait

Archaeologists have uncovered a rare gemstone engraved with the portrait of Alexander the Great during excavations at Tel Dor in Israel.

This tiny gem was dug up by a volunteer during excavations by a team from the University of Washington-Seattle.

Jessica Nitschke, professor of classical archaeology at Georgetown University in Washington DC, identified the engraved motif as a bust of Alexander the Great.

“Despite its miniature dimensions — the stone is less than a centimetre high and its width is less than half a centimetre, the engraver was able to depict the bust of Alexander on the gem without omitting any of the ruler’s characteristics,” notes Ayelet Gilboa, professor of archaeology at the University of Haifa.

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