Achaemenid (uh-KEE-meh-nid): the dynasty of kings that ruled Persia from about 550 to 331 B.C.
favissa (FAH-viss-uh): similar to a geniza (see below), this is a special pit in which discarded votive figurines were deliberately buried, probably in a religious ceremony.
geniza: a storage room for worn, discarded religious books and artifacts. It is forbidden to destroy these objects or to throw them away, because they may contain the name of God.
tefillin (tih-fee-LEEN [Heb.]; tih-FILL-en [common Yiddish pronunciation]): small boxes containing scripts from the Jewish law, which observant Jews wear on the forehead and arm during recitation of certain prayers.
