With a duck-headed handle, this incense shovel was uncovered at Khirbet el-Eika in Galilee last August—during the first season of excavations at the site led by Uzi Leibner of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The shovel is approximately 2,200 years old and dates to the Hellenistic period. It would have been used to shovel coals or to transport burning coals or incense.
Incense shovels were used in cultic settings, but they have also been uncovered in burials and domestic structures, suggesting that they could serve a utilitarian or funerary purpose as well. Exodus 27:3 describes bronze shovels and firepans for the Tabernacle. Such utensils were used to carry burning coals and incense to the Tabernacle’s altar.
The duck-headed incense shovel is of Greco-Roman design. It was uncovered by Leibner and his team in the ruins of a public building at Khirbet el-Eika. In a building close by, a surprising number of Greek wine amphorae with stamps from Rhodes and Kos—two famous producers of wine—were found. Khirbet el-Eika is located on a hill northwest of the Sea of Galilee and is situated above an ancient trade route in the Arbel Valley. One of the main objectives of the expedition is to try to identify the ethnicity and religion of the population living in Galilee during the Hellenistic period. This is important for understanding the background against which Christianity first developed at the beginning of the Roman period in this area.
For more on the duck-headed incense shovel, visit www.biblicalarchaeology.org/eika.
A. Byzantine shoehorn
B. Ottoman archaeological trowel
C. Canaanite wall plaque
D. Hellenistic incense shovel
E. Philistine strainer
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Answer: (D) Hellenistic incense shovel
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