While touring a national park in the Golan Heights, an Israeli adolescent discovered a vintage Hellenistic ring.
View of the Hippos archaeological site at Sussita National Park in the Golan Heights, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, August 1, 2022.
A 17-year-old boy made a remarkable find when he located a 1,700-year-old item in a park near the Israeli-Syrian border.
According to a press release from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Itamar Grossman, 13, was visiting the Sussita National Park, on the ruins of the ancient Hellenistic city of Hippos, when something on the ground caught his attention after he went to a vantage point with a cousin to take pictures.
It turned out to be a prehistoric metal ring.
Itamar reportedly stated, "It was a strange and ancient-looking ring," according to All Israel News. My brothers and cousins thought it was just a dropped ring because they were with me and didn't think it was anything old.
Itamar insisted on bringing the ring to his parents and park officials even though his siblings and relatives didn't think it was anything extraordinary.
We knew the ring they discovered was significant the moment Itamar and his mother Liat contacted us and showed us it, according to Sarit Pilachi Miara of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
The metal ring was determined by archaeologists to be a Roman artifact, according to the press statement. The ring was found to be at least 1,700 years old, but it may actually be considerably older and may even go as far back as 100 to 300 BCE.
Archaeologists believed the decorative carvings on the ring were produced when it was first cast and they were still clearly visible.
View of the Hippos archaeological site at Sussita National Park in the Golan Heights, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, August 1, 2022. (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)
Ancient hippos ruins
An archeological site preserving the ruins of the ancient city of Hippos is Sussita National Park, which is situated on the Golan Heights close to the Galilee. Despite only having been made a national park earlier in 2023, it has been the scene of several archaeological excavations and discoveries over the past 30 years.
Around 250 BCE, the Hellenistic era saw the founding of the city of Hippos, which flourished throughout the Roman and Byzantine eras. It survived the Muslim takeover in 641 CE up until a devastating earthquake and subsequent abandonment in 749 BCE.
Numerous Roman and Byzantine remnants may be seen throughout the city, including the basilica, the odeon, eight churches, the forum, and the water reservoir in the middle of the forum.
An additional bronze artifact was found at the location in 2015 when archaeologists uncovered a sizable bronze mask that showed the Greek god Pan and was thought to have been made between the first and second centuries BCE.
