A Heart in a pre-CE Synagogue?

I was just reading this article where one of the world's oldest synagogues has been found in the northern part of Israel during excavation for a new hotel.

www.cnn.com...

What is interesting is the picture that accompanies this article of a large stone that set in the middle of this synagogue. While the archeologists are all gleeful that it contains one of the oldest renditions of the seven branched menorah, I'm a little more intrigued by the fact it has very distinguishable "valentine" hearts on it!

pic



I did some quick research on this and while you can find some sites that have some dubious information with claims that the valentine-shaped heart icon dates all the way back to paleolithic cave drawings, it appears those claims are tenuous at best.

This book,

books.google.com... RILYAo&hl=en&ei=CNGqSqOVCJiltgeZ2ZGSCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#v=onepage&q=&f=false

which is devoted to the history of the "valentine heart" states that what is now being called a heart symbol in the cave drawings was actually originally interpreted to be signifying the ear flap on an elephant, and that it wasn't until after elephant hunters suggested it was the heart that the finder of the cave drawing considered it...but never really officially promoted the idea.

It appears, from the brief reading I've done on the subject, that the current valentine heart icon, doesn't have real firm roots past about the middle ages.

Until now - or is some one off on their dating of this stone to 100 to 50 BCE???

[edit on 9-11-2009 by Valhall]

Interesting. I hadn't heard about this find. Gonna have to read some more about it tommorrow after work.

Thanks, Val. Good find.

Thanks for this interesting item.

But you wolud have gotten more attention if you called the thread something like "Zionists claim to have Heart"

This is ATS after all.

PS - they don't know from CE.


M

(from the 6-Star Hotel)

Actually, they don't declare it from BC...they are the ones who insist on CE.

[edit on 9-11-2009 by Valhall]

Wow, missed that. Was thinking BCE. Still, when can you make an arbitrary starting point? Much before 200 BC(E)?


M

Well, I don't think we need to debate the "starting point" and whether it's arbitrary. Let's just agree that "CE" or "BC" starts about 2000 years ago...so 100 to 50 BCE would 2100 to 2050 years ago.

At that point the modifiers don't matter anymore because the middle ages were definitely after that know matter which arbitrary modifier you attach.