Israeli archaeologists find 3,800-year-old artifact resembling Rodin’s ‘Thinker’

The clay jug's figurine rests its head on its right hand – a pose rarely, if ever, seen in Bronze Age works.

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(JTA) — Israeli archaeologists discovered a 3,800-year-old clay jug near Tel Aviv that resembles August Rodin’s famed statue “The Thinker.”

“For the best of our knowledge, no such jug had ever been found before,” Gilad Itach, a doctoral candidate at Bar-Ilan University who works with the Israel Antiquities Authority, told The New York Times on Tuesday.

A group of high school students helped the archaeologists make the find in September in the city of Yehud. They announced the discovery on Nov. 23.

The Israel Antiquities Authority team found the jug in pieces and repaired it. They believe it was part of a funeral offering.

The vessel figurine’s restive “Thinker” pose is very rare for a Bronze Age work, The Times reported.

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