Intentionally Broken Discus Lamps from Roman Apollonia: A New Interpretation

The Apollonia-Arsuf Excavations yielded hundreds of Roman discus lamps. The typical pagan and erotic figurative motifs had been intentionally broken off, an act familiar at other sites in Roman Palestine that was often said to be the work of monotheists of either the Samaritan or Jewish faiths. This article surveys the evidence at hand and considers the intentional breaking of Roman discus lamps in Roman Palestine as the work of members of all monotheistic faiths. In the case of Roman Apollonia, however, this act was performed by Samaritans or early Christians (or both).