Five hundred and thirty rare knuckle bones that were engraved with the names of gods and used for divination have been discovered in the ancient city of Maresha.
Known as ‘astragali’, the bones date back some 2,300 years to the Hellenistic period, which lasted from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC until the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC.
The knuckles bones – which were used for playing games as well, often by women and children – were unearthed by Dr. Ian Stern from the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem.
