In a remarkable archaeological discovery that bridges continents, cultures, and centuries, a team of Israeli and German researchers has uncovered rare carved pendants buried in sixth to seventh-century Christian graves at Tel Malḥata, a site nestled southeast of Beersheba in Israel's arid Negev Desert.

Published in Volume 117 of the Israel Antiquities Authority's (IAA) journal ‘Atiqot’, the study sheds new light on a little-known community of early Christians whose identity, memory, and personal adornments reflect powerful ties to Africa—and a world of commerce spanning from South Asia to the Eastern Mediterranean.

Portraits from the Past: African Likenesses in Bone and Ebony

Five miniature pendants—three made from polished bone and two from the exotic black wood known as ebony—were unearthed during 2016–2017 salvage excavations within an active military zone covering the ancient necropolis. The pendants depict stylized human figures, clearly intended to resemble African men and women.

Ancient unique finds in the South: Five tiny figurines – including heads of African figures carved in black wood – were uncovered in 1500-year-old graves of women and children during an archaeological dig at Tel Malḥata in the Negev’s Arad Valley. The research on these findings,… pic.twitter.com/KgSVjRQYdD

— Archaeo - Histories (@archeohistories) May 14, 2025

Dr. Noé D. Michael (University of Cologne & IAA) led the investigation, alongside archaeologists Svetlana Talis, Dr. Yossi Nagar, and Emil Aladjem of the IAA. Their detailed analysis attributes the pendants to three separate graves, each containing an individual from a distinctly Christian burial layout, pointing to a population already integrated into Byzantine religious traditions—but still holding tightly to symbols of heritage.

The Graves and Their Hidden Histories

• Tomb 162 housed a young woman, aged 18–21, laid out in traditional Christian style—east-west orientation, arms folded inward. Alongside her body lay a single bone pendant, a bronze bracelet, and delicate glass vessels.
• Tomb 178, belonging to a woman aged 20–30, yielded a richer array: two alabaster jars, an assortment of jewelry, and a pair of human-shaped pendants—one bone and one ebony.
• Tomb 179, the grave of a child aged six to eight, revealed one bone and one ebony carving, poignantly positioned under the left arm and over the abdomen, resting beside bronze ornaments.

Craftsmanship and Origins: Trade Along the Incense and Spice Routes

All three bone pendants were carved from metapodial bones, smoothed and incised with minimalistic features—eyes, arms, mouths—and pierced to hang from cords. Their sizes ranged from 1.95 to 3.15 cm.

The ebony pendants, however, drew particular academic attention. Under the lens of an optical microscope, one was confirmed to be carved from Diospyros ebenum, also known as Ceylon ebony—native to the forests of South India and Sri Lanka. The male figure, 2.75 cm tall, bears distinct African facial features. A matching broken female pendant suggests a paired set—perhaps representing parents, ancestors, or divine figures remembered across time and space.

Such luxury goods, the researchers note, would have traveled via ancient maritime trade routes connecting Egypt, the Horn of Africa, and the Indian subcontinent, eventually transported inland by camel caravans across Negev trade arteries. Tel Malḥata sat at the junction of these historic highways—one stretching north from Aila (modern Aqaba), the other cutting east-west from Gaza to the Dead Sea.

Also very cool: 1500-year-old figurines discovered in Negev dig bring evidence of Christian community that lived in area, possibly including African members - and ebony imported from South India or Sri Lanka. pic.twitter.com/Xbjwjj6P5b

— Gershom Gorenberg גרשום גורנברג (@GershomG) May 14, 2025

Memory and Identity Across Borders

What do these pendants mean?

The authors argue they were not religious relics or liturgical accessories. Rather, they likely served as personal and familial objects, tokens of lineage, memory, and origin. In the deeply symbolic act of burial, they remained close to the bodies of their owners—perhaps representing ancestral spirits or a visual affirmation of identity in a new religious framework.

The paper further points out that Greco-Roman writers grouped a variety of sub-Saharan African populations under the label “Ethiopian.” It is entirely plausible that some individuals buried at Tel Malḥata were descendants of African migrants or converts from Axum or Nubia, both of which saw dramatic Christian expansion under the Byzantine emperors Justinus I and Justinian.

A Cosmopolitan Cemetery in the Desert

The broader cemetery excavated at Tel Malḥata includes about 155 graves, most following Christian conventions, but with burial customs ranging from lined cist graves to Roman-era incineration pits. Pottery and small finds span a timeline from the 3rd century CE to the early Umayyad period, yet the style, content, and luxury items in the three figurine graves anchor them firmly in the late sixth or early seventh century.

Each tomb also displayed thoughtful placement of grave goods—bracelets, jars, pendants—near the hands, torso, and feet, reinforcing patterns seen across the necropolis and throughout the Byzantine world.

"Stories of Tradition and Memory"

In a public announcement following the publication, the Israel Antiquities Authority emphasized the emotional and cultural gravity of the find. “The pendants carry stories of tradition and memory,” the IAA said. “They remind us that the Land of Israel has always been a meeting point of cultures.”

IAA Director Eli Eskosido added: “These individuals lived Christian lives in the Roman-Byzantine Negev, but the pendants reveal they had roots—and perhaps souls—still connected to Africa. They are a testament to migrants who adopted local customs while maintaining profound ties to distant homelands.”