A lifeguard who was diving off in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast south of Tel Aviv has discovered a rare 2,500-year-old marble discus, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Sunday. He turned the white discus over to the Authority.
The marble relic is flat on one side and convex on the other and is eight inches in diameter. It has been identified as representing the pupil of an eye that adorned the bow of an ancient warship or cargo ship. A lead coupling or bronze nail was driven through the hole in the center of the discus in order to attach the object to the hull of the ship.
"The discus was used to protect [vessels] from the evil eye and envy and was meant as a navigation aid and to act as a pair of eyes which looked ahead and warned of danger," explained Kobi Sharvit, the director of the Marine Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority.