Rare African-Style Figurines Found in Israel Unearth Ancient Cultural and Trade Links

In a groundbreaking archaeological discovery, researchers in southern Israel have unearthed rare African-style figurines, carved from precious ebony wood, buried in Christian graves dating back 1,500 years. The finds offer new insights into ancient Afro-Asian trade, early Christian cultural diversity, and enduring African spiritual traditions.

The two figurines—depicting a man and a woman with distinct African features—were found in stone-lined tombs (cist graves) at Tel Malḥata, a historically significant site in the Arad Valley. Carved from ebony sourced from India or Sri Lanka, the items were likely worn as pendants and may have represented ancestral spirits, according to archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the University of Cologne.

“This is an unprecedented discovery in the region,” said Dr Noé D. Michael, co-author of the study published in the journal ‘Atiqot. “Such figurines, particularly made from exotic materials and bearing African characteristics, have never been found in Israel, Jordan or neighbouring areas.”

Figurines in Burial: A Family Legacy?

The ebony figurines were recovered from the graves of a woman, aged 20–30, and a child aged 6–8, who were buried side by side. Researchers believe they were likely mother and child, given the proximity of the graves and the shared style of grave goods. One figurine portrays a woman’s head; the other a male bust with long hair and outstretched arms. Each has a small hole for threading a cord, indicating they were likely worn around the neck.

“These were intimate personal objects, possibly carrying stories of identity, tradition, and memory,” Dr Michael added.

The burials also contained alabaster jars, bronze jewellery, and three additional figurines carved from bone—a more common material in the region. Bone figurines have long been associated with domestic rituals and funerary customs.

A Crossroads of Culture and Commerce

Tel Malḥata has been continuously inhabited since the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1500 BCE) and became a major administrative centre during the Roman-Byzantine period. Strategically located on ancient trade routes, it connected Africa, Arabia, and Asia, making it a conduit for the exchange of luxury goods, cultures and peoples.

“By the 6th and 7th centuries CE, merchants moved ebony from southern India and Sri Lanka through Egypt and the Horn of Africa to the Levant,” the researchers noted. This supports the theory that the grave goods reflect long-distance trade and multi-ethnic interaction.

The graves exhibit Christian burial rites, such as body alignment and positioning, but the figurines themselves lack overt Christian symbols. Scholars interpret them as symbols of ancestor veneration, a practice retained even after conversion to Christianity.

Africa’s Imprint on Early Christian Israel

The presence of African-style figurines within a Christian cemetery underscores the ethnic diversity of the early Christian community in the Negev. During this period, Christianity was spreading across the Horn of Africa, and populations from regions like Nubia and Axum (modern-day Sudan and Ethiopia) may have migrated or traded through the area.

Dr Michael speculates that the individuals may have been Africans or of African descent, integrating ancestral traditions with new Christian beliefs—a cultural continuity that illustrates how identity and spirituality transcended formal religious shifts.

One burial, belonging to a woman aged 18–21, featured a bone figurine of a female form, a bronze bracelet, and glass vessels, further reinforcing the practice of burying the dead with symbolic items.

“These finds reveal the lived experiences of individuals at the intersection of faith, identity, and transcontinental exchange,” said Dr Michael.

Implications for Pan-African and Afro-Asian History

The discovery sheds new light on the Pan-African presence in the ancient Levant and the early African diaspora’s cultural expressions. It also reinforces the need to re-examine archaeological narratives through a decolonised and Afrocentric lens, recognising Africa not as a passive recipient but an active contributor to global history.

As Jamaica and other African-descended nations deepen educational programmes about African heritage, discoveries like these become vital tools for understanding the deep-rooted interconnectedness of Africa with the wider ancient world.

The research on these findings is now published in Issue 117 of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s ʼAtiqot journal.

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Source: Archaeology news online magazine