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This ancient Canaanite comb is engraved with a plea against lice

Between the teeth, researchers found the remains of a louse

An ancient ivory comb with a row of teeth faint signs of engraving

Carved into this ivory comb, dating to 1,700 B.C., is a sentence warding off lice that’s written in the early language of the ancient Canaanites, a new study finds.

Dafna Gazit/Israel Antiquities Authority

By Freda Kreier

- More than 2 years ago

Read another version of this article at Science News Explores

Engraved into the side of a nearly 4,000-year-old ivory comb is a simple wish: Get these lice out of my hair.