Lost Relic of History: Forgotten Battle Compass Found in the Judean Foothills

A compass belonging to one of the warriors of the 'Mountain Unit' (Lamed He) was discovered at the battle site in the Judean Foothills, alongside shells from a Bren machine gun. This was part of an archaeological study conducted by Dr. Rafi Lewis from the Ashkelon Academic College and the University of Haifa, together with Eyal Marco from the Israel Antiquities Authority. The researchers estimate the compass belonged to the platoon commander Dani Mass, or one of the two scouts in the unit – Yitzhak Halevi or Yitzhak Zevuloni.

The story of Lamed He is one of the tragic chapters of Israel's War of Independence – a battle where all 35 fighters on their way to aid the besieged Etzion Bloc perished.

For the past two years, Dr. Lewis and Marco have been leading a unique archaeological study on the hill where the Lamed He fought. The two first met during their military reserve duty in the IDF's EITAN unit, which specializes in locating missing soldiers. In this role, they employ archaeological methods to search for soldiers whose burial places remain unknown.

In their research, Dr. Lewis and Marco studied the Lamed He hill from both archaeological and environmental perspectives, systematically collecting evidence that still remains from the battlefield. This evidence joins the sparse findings gathered by the Kfar Etzion Field School and testimonies from the Arab fighters and the British officer responsible for the body retrieval operations at the time.

"The material evidence from the battle is disappearing," say Marco and Dr. Lewis. "Artifacts erode in the field, and hikers take mementos; we felt that if we didn't act now, we would soon lose the opportunity to reconstruct the battlefield."

On one of the research days, the researchers found several Bren machine gun shells and a brass compass equipped with a locking mechanism behind a rock used as cover by one of the fighters. An analysis of the compass indicated that it was manufactured in the first third of the 20th century. Forensic research conducted in the labs of the Israel Police showed that the compass's glass was shattered by a bullet that pierced its frame. "The facts that the compass matches the period of the battle and that it was hit by a bullet strengthen the assumption that it was used during the Lamed He battle, indicating the presence of a commanding or leading figure during the final stages of that battle," Marco explains.

Dr. Lewis adds, "At this stage, we cannot definitively attribute the compass to a specific fighter, but it's likely it belonged to one of three – the platoon commander Dani Mass, or one of the two scouts, Yitzhak Halevi or Yitzhak Zevuloni."