Ancient “Magic Bowls” Seized in Jerusalem Home Raid
Jerusalem, Israel – March 7, 2022
Israeli authorities have uncovered a hidden cache of antiquities — including several “magic bowls” inscribed with ancient spells — during a raid on a private residence in northern Jerusalem.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), acting with local police, discovered the artifacts in a Ramat Shlomo apartment after a months-long investigation into illegal antiquities trading. The seized collection includes three ceramic incantation bowls believed to date between the 5th and 7th centuries CE, alongside hundreds of coins, ivory carvings, and fragments of glassware.
Ritual Protection Against Demons
The bowls, written in Aramaic, contain tightly spiraled inscriptions invoking angelic and biblical names — such as Michael and Raphael — intended to protect families from demons, disease, and misfortune. One inscription even contains a formula described by experts as a “divorce decree from evil spirits.”
“These were household objects used by ordinary people in Late Antiquity,” said Dr. Eitan Klein, deputy director of the IAA’s Theft Prevention Unit. “They tell us how magic, religion, and daily life were inseparable 1,500 years ago.”
Possible Looted Origins
Authorities also found chemical materials commonly used in artifact restoration, suggesting some of the items may have been looted or tampered with. Specialists from the IAA’s Archaeological Research Department are now authenticating each piece.
The “magic bowls” tradition is well-known from excavations in Mesopotamia, particularly around ancient Babylon and Nippur, where Jewish, Christian, and pagan households alike commissioned inscribed bowls to guard against spiritual harm.
Their appearance in Jerusalem — genuine or otherwise — is a reminder of the city’s deep entanglement with both faith and folklore, where sacred texts and secret spells often occupied the same household shelf.
Sources:
– The Jerusalem Post, March 2022
– Smithsonian Magazine, “1,500-Year-Old Magic Bowls Seized in Jerusalem Raid” (2022)
– The Times of Israel, March 2022