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Question
i have a crucifix with some old writing with a strange star shaped symbol on one side, and a depiction of what appears to be a man next to a tree looking up at a man in the tree on the other side.
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it came from Petra, Jordan. It looks VERY old. I would like to send you a picture of it only to see if you might be able to tell me the origin. Thank you in advance, and I hope to hear back for we have not been able to see anything quite like it, although it does seem to be most similar to other Sumerian artifacts.
Andrea
This is outside my usual area of expertise, so you should definitely pursue this with an expert better-qualified than I am about more recent (i.e., post-Stone Age) archaeology of SW Asia. But, the star-like symbol on the right-side image looks like the star-symbol of the Bar-Kochba Revolt of the late 1st Century AD. Sumerian? Not very likely, but more likely this is related to some kind of Judeo-Christian symbolism indigenous to what was then part of the Roman world.
As to the men and the tree, the work of Beatrice Goff might be relevant. Dr. Goff (for whom I used to do yard work when I was a teenager back in the 1970s) wrote extensively about how early Christians adopted and re-purposed pagan imagery. This might be what you have here.
As with any and all such artifacts, context is all. If this were from an excavation with other associated artifacts and evidence that could provide a date, one could say more, but, artifacts like this that are found or bought, could be of any age. My working assumption for all such things is that they are modern forgeries unless proven otherwise. There is a burgeoning industry that makes such artifacts and sells them to tourists in Israel, Jordan, and adjacent countries.
If you are interested in learning more about it, I'd advise you to take it to an archaeologist or art historian with expertise in Roman-era symbols.
Sincerely,
John Shea
PS: I cannot tell from where you are writing, but you (and anybody else reading this comment) should be aware that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (in which Petra is located) has strict laws prohibiting the sale and export of antiquities. If it is a genuine artifact, it is the property of the people of Jordan and should be returned to the nearest Jordanian consulate for repatriation. I cannot speak for the Jordanians, but I think they recognize that most people who acquire such artifacts do so not knowing about these laws.
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John Shea
Expertise
Questions about Old World prehistoric archaeology (especially Stone Age) of Europe, Africa, and Western Asia, prehistoric human and hominid behavior, primitive technology, origin of modern humans, extinction of the Neandertals.
Experience
>20 years as a professional anthropologist based at a research university.
Publications
Journal of Field Archaeology, Journal of Archaeological Science, Lithic Technology, Evolutionary Anthropology, Current Anthropology, Mitekufat HaEven (Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society), Paléorient, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, American Anthropologist, Geoarchaeology.
Education/Credentials
Ph.D (Anthropology) Harvard University, 1991.
BA (Archaeology) Boston University, 1982.
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