Something’s Fishy!

COURTESY GAD BARNEA

Soon after the publication of the tiny lead object from Mt. Ebal, some scholars were quick to provide alternative interpretations. Among them was Amihai Mazar, Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who argued the item was likely nothing more than a common fishing net weight.¹

According to Mazar, small lead fishing weights of this type were common in the eastern Mediterranean toward the end of the Late Bronze Age (c. 1400–1200 BCE). Fishermen would take small strips of the soft metal, approximately 2 inches long and 1 inch wide, and fold them in half around the strands of a fishing net to help it sink. Sometimes, they would scratch rudimentary designs into the lead depicting a schematic net or other simple design; Mazar says this may account for the letter-shaped markings on the Mt. Ebal object.

As the image at right shows, fishing weights of this type closely resemble the “curse tablet,” not only in outward appearance but also in dimensions. As to why a fishing weight would be found at an inland site such as Mt. Ebal, Mazar does not speculate; notably, however, such weights have been found in funerary contexts, suggesting they may have had a ritual or symbolic purpose beyond their practical use.