Facebook users crack 6-month Israel antiquities mystery


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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Antiquities Authority says Facebook users have solved the mystery of a gilded object thought to be an ancient Jewish relic.

Director of theft prevention Amir Ganor says police alerted his office six months ago to a gold scepter with seven grooves found in a Jerusalem cemetery.

Ganor says his office x-rayed the scepter and analyzed its materials. He mused whether it was used in the biblical Jewish Temples. Experts did not recognize it.

With no further ideas, the Authority posted a picture on Facebook and one of 300 responders identified the object: It's a Weber Isis Beamer, a German device that claims to create "a protective field" against radiation.

"The wisdom of the masses has done its part," the Authority said Tuesday.

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