An Aramaic-Inscribed Lamaštu Amulet from Zincirli

Children of Kubaba: Serious Games, Ritual Toys, and Divination at Iron Age Carchemish

“…If the identification of the animal with a donkey foal is correct, we shall consider that donkeys also played a part in scapegoat rituals, and significantly so in rituals aimed at averting illnesses from infants, as illustrated by several "Lamashtu amulets" found in the Levant, including at Carchemish, Zincirli and Arslan Tash. These amulets were incised with images of donkeys symbolically "carrying away" evil influences (Degrado and Richey 2017;Wee 2018). Indeed, the form of these amulets, which were suspended from a cord, is analogous to the object held by the baby's carrier.…”