Spielman found an amulet bearing the name of an ancient Egyptian ruler. (Adina Graham/City of David Foundation via Associated Press)

An Israeli girl found what turns out to be an ancient Egyptian amulet, or good-luck charm, that dates back more than 3,200 years, an official with a Jerusalem archaeological project said Tuesday.

Neshama Spielman, 12, and her family took part in the Temple Mount Sifting Project, a project to sort through earth discarded from the area of the biblical temples in Jerusalem. There she found a pendant-shaped amulet bearing the name of the Egyptian ruler Thutmose III, who ruled from 1479 to 1425 B.C.

“While I was sifting, I came across a piece of pottery that was different from others I had seen, and I immediately thought that maybe I had found something special,” Neshama said in a post on the project’s blog.

The girl said she found the amulet four years ago, when she was 8. Zeev Orenstein, an official with the City of David Foundation, which supports the sifting project, explained that it can take years to determine the origin and importance of such archaeological finds.

— Associated Press